


Legends

by Whiskey_With_Patron



Series: Legends [1]
Category: Hollywood Undead (Band)
Genre: Fantasy AU, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide Attempt, chapter 14 is pretty bloody btw just a warning, danny has a flashback sort of panic attack in chapter 39 btw, dylan has a mild panic attack in another way out, he kinda has a sensory overload induced panic attack in black dahlia, i may have accidentally given danny PTSD, jorel has multiple mental breakdowns throughout the whole swan songs section, most of the depression stuff is in chapters 21 and 22, yes i am self projecting my own problems onto jorel what about it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-17
Updated: 2020-03-14
Packaged: 2020-06-30 07:05:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 50
Words: 200,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19848049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Whiskey_With_Patron/pseuds/Whiskey_With_Patron
Summary: “What did they look like?” Dylan prompted.The other three whirled around when a huge gust of wind sent their fire dancing. Another gust blew over them and the fire flickered out, leaving them in darkness. Four huge scaly paws touched the ground, sending up clouds of dirt and old ashes. Two large wings blocked out the moon, attached to the monstrous silhouette of a dragon. Its light blue eyes glared down at them, practically glowing in the darkness. White spikes trailed down its spine, and sitting between two of the spikes on the beast’s neck was a man. It was difficult to see him because he was so high up, but in his hands was a set of reins that were tied to the dragon’s horns.Jordon stared in shock at the creature. “Like that,” he whispered.





	1. Introduction

**Author's Note:**

> I designed the dragons in here using Flight Rising and posted them on tumblr, so I'll leave a link in case anyone wants to see what the dragons in this story actually look like.  
> I have a few chapters prewritten, so this will likely be updated twice a week (mostly Tuesdays and Fridays) until school starts again. Then it will probably change to once a week (likely on Saturdays). if I miss an update, don't worry! I was probably too busy on that day and will get another chapter up as soon as I can, or will simply update the next day I was scheduled to.
> 
> [here are the dragons](https://falsehood-rising.tumblr.com/post/186357664259/i-made-hollywood-undead-dragons-bc-i-was-bored)

Jorel woke to see two bright red eyes staring at his face.

He smiled. “Hey, Tiger.”

The eyes disappeared, and he heard tiny claws frantically scraping against the floor. They scrambled up the wall and finally stopped.

Jorel pushed himself up into a sitting position. He stared at the small white dragon sitting on top of his bookshelf. Brown lines snaked down and around the dragon’s body, which was quite long for its otherwise small size. Pale green horns stuck out of the creature’s head just above its eyes. Four of its six red wings were attached to its short arms and legs. It sat on top of the shelf like a cat, staring intently at Jorel with its bright red eyes.

He stood up from his cot on the floor and walked over to the curtain that covered the back doorway. “You can go hunt for bugs,” he said. “I’m going to get some food anyway.”

He heard Tiger’s claws skitter across the floor, and a moment later, he was face-down on the floor with Tiger wrapped around his ankles.

He sighed in annoyance and looked back at the dragon. “What?”

She untangled herself from his legs and sat on the floor, staring at him intently. Her brow was furrowed and she scratched at the floor with her two front paws.

Jorel knew that look. “What happened while I was asleep?”

Tiger turned and scampered towards Jorel’s cot and wriggled under the thin blanket. She closed her large eyes as if she were sleeping and then began thrashing about and whimpering.

Jorel walked over to the cot and scooped Tiger out of the blankets. “Just because I was squirming in my sleep doesn’t mean I was in danger.” He set her down on the floor. “I probably just had a bad dream.”

Tiger huffed and looked up at him. He reached down and scratched her behind the horns before continuing to the door. He grabbed his cloak off the hook next to the door and clasped it around his neck. “Go get some bugs. I’ll be back soon.”

She let out a high pitched whine behind him. He turned back and looked at her sad face.

He sighed. “I’ll check and see if there are any executions scheduled for today.”

Tiger’s mood seemed to brighten immediately. She turned and scrambled behind the bookshelf, no doubt looking for ants and roaches to feast on.

He grabbed his dagger off the bookshelf and tucked it into the pocket of his trousers. Then he brushed past the back curtain and stepped out into the alleyway outside.

* * *

Dylan pushed through some bushes in the middle of a grove of trees. He almost tripped over a loose tree root, but he quickly righted himself and knelt down. He grabbed the handle of the trapdoor hidden within the bushes. He pulled it open, revealing a narrow hole leading to the dirt below. He swung his legs into the hole and dropped down.

His feet thudded against the ground. Under the trapdoor was a short tunnel made of tightly packed dirt that led to a large, open room. He strolled down the tunnel. “Grenade?” he called. “I’m home!”

A happy screech echoed off the walls, accompanied by loud, pounding footsteps. A large black dragon running on two legs dashed into the main room. It stopped in front of Dylan and snuffled at his hair.

Dylan reached up and patted the dragon’s flank. “Good to see you.”

Grenade backed up and gazed down at Dylan. Grenade’s obsidian black hide would have blended into the darkness of the room, if not for his bright yellow underbelly and the intricate grey patterns in his feathers. His bright green eyes helped light up the room a little too, as did his four yellow horns.

Dylan glanced up at the dark lanterns hanging from the ceiling. “Have the shadow dragons been out?”

Grenade shrugged with his tiny shoulders and arms. He turned to one of the openings in the dirt walls and made some weird dragon noises that Dylan couldn’t quite understand.

A tiny dragon with orange eyes fluttered out of the opening and landed on a lantern. It exhaled, and a small column of flames shot into the lantern. A swarm of purple-eyed dragons hidden in the darkness skittered away from the light, while dragons with yellow eyes shot out of multiple openings and gathered around the fire. The dragon who had lit the lantern moved on to another one with the yellow-eyed dragons trailing after it, waiting eagerly for more light.

“That’ll warm it up in here a little,” Dylan muttered. He looked up at the ceiling. “Could you open the skylight?”

Grenade centred himself in the middle of the room and looked up. He jumped up and hit a trapdoor on the ceiling with his nose. The trapdoor flew open and light spilled into the room. The yellow-eyed dragons shot up to the skylight and hovered around it. Dylan felt something clip his shoulder and saw a large yellow-eyed dragon with two rows of spikes on its back walking towards the beam of light. It flopped down on the ground and curled up under the warmth of the sun.

Dylan felt Grenade’s hot breath on his shoulder and turned to face him. Grenade nudged Dylan with his snout and stared down at him with wide green eyes.

Dylan sighed and scratched Grenade on the head. “I’m fine. I just took a walk.”

Grenade grunted and flicked his tail, which Dylan took to mean: _why the fuck were you out walking at five a.m.?_

Dylan shrugged and sat down on the floor next to the large spiky dragon. “I just had a bad dream. Thought I’d go out and see if I could get some breakfast.”

Grenade stamped his foot and made a whining sound in his throat. Dylan rolled his eyes and leaned against the dragon in the sun. “Hey, I’m fine. If it makes you feel any better, I don’t even remember what it was about.”

Grenade huffed. He lowered himself to the ground and curled up next to Dylan. Dylan scratched the dragon behind the horns and relaxed, basking in the warm sunlight.

* * *

Jordon opened his eyes and yawned. He glanced to the left and right, trying to remember where he was. Large charcoal grey wings beat on either side of him, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

He patted the grey scales he was sitting on. “Hey Viral, how long have we been flying?”

The dragon he’d been sleeping on twisted its head to the side so it could see him. Its narrow orange eyes grazed over him before it turned back around and faced the front. He felt its large shoulders move up and down as it shrugged.

Jordon leaned to the side to look at the sky ahead of them. The huge spiky ridges on Viral’s back made it hard to sit down comfortably, but the spikes that were further apart also worked as makeshift saddle. An uncomfortable saddle, but it was harder to fall off that way, especially when he was sleeping. Viral’s grey scales almost reminded him of a storm cloud. The resemblance was helped along by the white lightning-like patterns decorating Viral’s hide.

Jordon stood up and slowly made his way towards Viral’s head, using the ridges for support. “You see anyone?” he asked.

Viral lightly shook his head. Jordon lowered himself back down so he was sitting between two spikes on Viral’s neck. “I had a weird dream,” he mumbled.

Viral tilted his head as if letting Jordon know he was listening. Jordon leaned against the ridge behind him and tapped the side of his foot against Viral’s neck. “I mean, can’t really remember what it was. All I know is that it was bad.”

Viral’s shoulders rippled again as he shrugged. Jordon leaned to the side to look past the ridge in front of him and reached into his bag. “Hang on.” He pulled out a pair of brass goggles and put them over his eyes. He twisted a knob on the side of the goggles, and suddenly he could see every blade of grass in the field below them. He scanned the ground for a moment before resting the goggles on his forehead. “No one.” He reached down and patted Viral’s neck. “Next time we see a lake, we’ll set down so you can eat.”

Viral grunted happily. Jordon leaned back and gazed at the clouds above them as Viral soared through the sky.

* * *

Danny had been flipping through a book when a dragon pushed through his front door.

He looked up from his mess of blankets on the floor to see a tall, lithe dragon covered in golden fur and feathers trotting into his house on all fours. Its entire body gleamed as if it was made of actual gold. Black stripes decorated the fur along its spine and the tips of its wings. The fur around its yellow eyes was black, giving its face an almost skeletal appearance, but Danny didn’t find it intimidating in the slightest.

Danny set down his book and narrowed his eyes in disapproval at the dragon. “Lion, what did you do?”

The dragon rolled her eyes and walked up to him. She nudged her nose against his head and then looked at the door.

Danny pushed himself to his feet. “Yeah okay, I’m coming. Hang on.” He rummaged through the mess of fabric and removed a hooded cape from the pile. He put it around his shoulders and followed Lion to the door.

Lion bounded through the door and sat down in the dirt outside. She turned her head to face Danny as he left the small, broken down house.

He stepped through the doorway and raised an eyebrow when he spotted what Lion wanted him to see. A small baby dragon with brown scales sat on the gravel road in front of him. Its arm was bleeding and it stared up at Danny with big pale blue eyes.

Danny looked up at Lion. “You know I’m not a dragon healer.”

Lion huffed and stood up. She nudged the dragon’s head with her nose and turned to look back at Danny.

“I’m not even a keeper,” he sighed. “Or a handler. I don’t know what to do with injured baby dragons.”

Lion simply blinked at him. “Fine,” he relented. “I’ll do my best, but I don’t think it’ll get any better unless that grey dragon comes around.” He knelt next to the hatchling. “Can you go find some cloth scraps in one of the houses?” he asked Lion.

She immediately turned and ran to one of the burned out buildings lining the street. She disappeared into the wreckage and bounded out a moment later with a worn out tunic in her mouth. She dropped it next to Danny and he pet her on the head. “Thanks.”

He ripped the tunic into narrow strips and carefully took the baby dragon’s arm in his hand. He gently wrapped the cloth around the wound and tied it in place as best he could.

“I think that’s as good as it’ll get,” he announced as he stood up. “Can I get back to my book now?”

Lion tilted her head and grunted. She seemed to be asking a question.

Danny shrugged. “I’m just reading about dreams. What they might mean. That stuff.”

Lion furrowed her brow and leaned forward, an obvious expression of shock for a dragon. _Why?_ she seemed to be asking.

Danny hesitated. “I just had a weird dream last night. I think it was a nightmare, but I don’t know. I can’t remember what it was about. I thought reading about it might jog my memory, but I’m not sure yet.”

Lion stepped forward and rested her chin on his head. She made a low purring sound in her throat, as if trying to comfort him. He patted her flank and smiled gratefully. “I appreciate the concern, but it’s couldn’t have been too bad if I don’t remember it.” He glanced to the side and spotted a couple more dragons making their way down the road towards him. One of them was stumbling over its feet and breathing heavily.

“Can you take care of that?” Danny asked, gesturing to the sick dragon. “I don’t think I can help anyway.”

Lion nodded and bounded off towards the pair of dragons. Danny turned around and disappeared into his house.

* * *

Not far from the large island where all of this took place, another, much smaller island resided. In the middle of this small island was a large pond shallow enough to sit in. Old columns and ruins of temples that had been built hundreds of years ago surrounded the water. They might have once been beautiful, but were now nothing more than remnants of a city long gone.

Taking up the majority of this pond was a monstrous stone statue of a dragon. It was curled up in the water, its wings folded to its sides. Spines ran along its back and down its tail. They appeared tiny in comparison to the full statue, but up close were almost half as tall as a human.

Right next to the dragon was a statue of a man. He sat in the water, leaning back against the dragon’s wing. In front of him, a razor sharp broadsword stuck out of the ground, the only part of the statue that wasn’t made of rock. The statue’s hands rested casually on the pommel, as if it were not a deadly weapon, but an armrest. Engraved into the hilt of the sword was a butterfly. Moss and algae had grown on the statues over time, but not a trace of rust had touched the blade.

As the sun rose over the realm, a loud crack echoed across the water. A minuscule fracture appeared in the left eye of the human statue. The sound faded away, and the land was silent once more.


	2. Honour Among Thieves

On Sunset Island in the realm of Angeles, befriending a dragon was unthinkable. Dragons were horrible beasts that killed anything they saw, and that included humans. Dragons were the worst creatures in the entire realm, and if a person came across one, it was almost guaranteed they wouldn’t get out alive.

Jorel hated people’s opinions on dragons. As he walked through the village with his hood up, he spotted posters on buildings and merchants’ carts offering cash rewards for anyone who could capture a dragon and bring it to the nobleman who ran the town. Jorel had seen people capture dragons and bring them in, and every time that happened, it left a bad taste in his mouth. He ignored the posters and approached a stall selling jewelry.

He picked up a bracelet and pretended to examine it while the merchant bartered with a noblewoman in a fancy dress. Jorel glanced next to him and saw that the lady had opened her coin purse. It sat unattended on the cart as she negotiated over a pair of earrings.

Jorel reached past her and set the bracelet in a basket with some other pieces of jewelry. As he moved his arm back to his side, his hand brushed against the purse and he snatched a couple coins. He slipped them into his sleeve and turned away before the lady could notice.

He walked away from the stall and let himself get taken away by the crowd. As soon as he was out of sight of the jewelry stall, he let the money fall into his hand. Two gold coins sat in his palm.

Money in hand, Jorel wandered the street, looking for a stall selling food. As he pushed through the crowd, he caught sight of a small group gathered around a paper taped to the side of a store. The people whispered among themselves. Jorel passed by them and overheard a couple snippets of conversation. They seemed to be talking about dragons.

A pit formed in Jorel’s stomach. Right. The executions. He’s promised Tiger he’d see if there were any scheduled for today.

He walked up to the group and stood on his tiptoes to peer over their heads. The word “executions” was written in thick black ink at the top of the poster. The rest of the paper was blank. Jorel sighed with relief. Rescuing dragons from being put to death in front of a crowd was always difficult.

He walked away from the group. His thoughts turned back to food, the execution list forgotten.

* * *

Most dragons weren’t built for the climate of Sunset Island. The majority of them preferred freezing mountains, or humid areas near oceans, and other places. They tried to find areas that matched their natural habitats, but that was hard for dragons who needed hot deserts and boiling volcanoes. Some of them couldn’t fly, or had nests on Sunset Island and couldn’t take them to other places, which was why Dylan did his best to provide a home for the dragons who needed it.

Dylan hauled a basket of frozen fish through an opening in the dirt wall and emerged in a room that was covered in snow. Ice coated the dirt on every surface of the room. Icicles poked up from the ground and stretched down from the ceiling. White-eyed dragons rested on top of snowdrifts and chased each other around the room. Dylan was already cold, but the room felt a little warmer than usual. It still felt like a freezer to him, but for dragons meant to be living on snowy mountains...

He set the basket down and turned to a small blue dragon with six wings and a very long body. “Too warm?”

The dragon grunted and scratched at the snowy ground. It looked displeased.

Dylan patted it on the head. “I’ll go out and get some ice this week.”

The dragon purred briefly and nudged him with its nose. Then it turned away and scampered into a snowdrift.

Dylan left the room as dragons swarmed around the basket of fish. Grenade was still lying next to the large yellow-eyed dragon in the sun, his eyes half closed.

Dylan knelt next to Grenade. “We need more ice.”

Grenade huffed in annoyance. He stared at Dylan. _You want me to move?_ his eyes seemed to ask.

Dylan grinned. “We’re also low on money...”

Grenade’s eyes shot open. He raised his head and leaned forward eagerly.

“There are some noblemen in a nearby town who have way more money than they need,” Dylan pointed out. “We could probably-”

He didn’t even get to finish his sentence before Grenade scrambled to his feet and sprinted to the tunnel that led to the trapdoor. Grenade turned back and squawked happily, waiting for Dylan to follow him.

Dylan rolled his eyes and stood up. “Not yet. We’ll wait until night. We’ll be harder to see.”

Grenade grumbled in his throat, but he tromped back into the room. Dylan patted him on the back. “Don’t worry, we’ll still go. I just need to find my knives.”

* * *

Jorel flipped through a book as Tiger munched on a roach. He didn’t like reading a whole lot, but it’s not like there was anything else to do in the house, and Tiger got lonely when he went out.

He had returned to the house earlier that day with a roll of bread bought with the noblewoman’s money. He’d snitched a few more coins from some other rich people on the street, so hopefully that could tide him over for the next week. He’d gone out a couple more times during the day to check the execution list, but nothing had been added.

Tiger always enjoyed saving dragons from executions. Jorel figured that it was probably because there weren’t many other dragons around for her to interact with. She couldn’t go outside without being seen, so social interaction was mostly limited to Jorel and the few dragons they rescued.

Well, them and the few hatchlings that sometimes appeared on their doorstep. Baby dragons who needed help or a place to stay for a few days often sat near the back curtain and waited for them while they were out. When Tiger was home, she would let them in and Jorel would return to see her curled up on the floor with a hatchling. Sometimes they even found whole dragon eggs outside and had to keep them until they hatched.

Jorel flipped a page in his book, but he paused when he felt claws digging into his shoulder. He glanced to the left to see Tiger clinging to his back with her front paws on his shoulder. Her wide red eyes gazed intently at his face.

He sighed. “I’ve checked four times today.”

Tiger whined and batted her eyes. He tried to stare her down, but she whimpered sadly and he shut his book reluctantly. “Fine.”

Tiger launched herself off his shoulder and hopped up the bookshelf in excitement. Jorel walked to the doorway and grabbed his cloak off the hook. He glanced out the curtain. It was getting dark, and he would be a lot harder to see. 

He turned back to Tiger. “You wanna come with?”

Tiger’s ears perked up and she sat up on her two hind feet. She leaped off the bookshelf and ran circles around Jorel’s feet.

Jorel put on his cloak. “Come on, then.”

Tiger scampered up his leg and wrapped herself around his torso. Jorel put up his hood. He let the cloak fall closed so it hid her from sight and stepped out into the alley.

* * *

Dylan polished one of his daggers with the edge of his cloak as he and Grenade trudged through the forest to the nearest town. He could have just ridden on Grenade’s back, but riding dragons wasn’t exactly his forte. He felt much more comfortable on his own two feet.

He sheathed his knife as they approached the edge of the town. There were still a few people wandering the streets, enough for Dylan to blend in with the small crowd. He slipped between two houses and made his way to the street as Grenade melted into the shadows among the trees.

Dylan walked into the street and fell in behind a group of well-dressed people. He assumed they were all rich and would be making their way to the nicer part of town, which was exactly where he needed to go.

He followed them quietly as they walked. He was right in the middle of the group, but no one had noticed him yet. Over time, he’d learned how to blend in with almost any crowd. Fitting in with nobles was pretty nerve-wracking, but did it when he had to.

“Pity there were no executions this morning,” one lady said to her friend. “They’re always so entertaining.”

Dylan tensed automatically. He hated the public dragon executions, which was partially why he chose not to live in any towns or villages. Seeing those almost every day was painful.

“I find them a little gruesome,” the lady’s friend replied. “I think capturing the dragons is enough.”

The man walking next to her laughed. “Darling, those creatures are dangerous! I’m glad the town kills them off. If it didn’t, those things would eat all of us.”

Dylan narrowed his eyes. The man and his wife broke away from the crowd and headed towards a large, fancy house made of stone. Dylan slowed down so he was at the back of the group, then left the nobles behind completely. He put up the hood of his black cloak and followed the couple, avoiding the lanterns on the street so he would be harder to see.

The two of them disappeared into a house. Dylan glanced up and down the street to make sure no one could see him before running to the side of the house and ducking behind it. He made sure the coast was clear, then raised two fingers to his lips and whistled.

He waited a moment. Then he heard the sound of wings flapping, and Grenade dropped to the ground in front of him. Grenade looked up at the house and back to Dylan.

“They’ve got money and the man hates dragons,” Dylan explained. “You think they could stand to lose some gold?”

Grenade bobbed his head once in agreement. Dylan reached into his pocket and pulled out a lock pick. “You ready?”

Grenade stamped his feet eagerly. Dylan rolled his eyes and walked up to the back door. “You get way too excited about stealing things.” He knelt down and inserted the pick into the keyhole. “Watch the window.”

Grenade tromped up to the back window and gazed into the house. After about a minute, Dylan heard a click he turned the doorknob. He carefully pushed the door open and peeked inside. Beyond the door was a room full of plush chairs and lounges. He stepped inside. Grenade squeezed through the door behind him and sniffed at the furniture.

Dylan grabbed a cloth bag from his cloak and tossed it to Grenade. “Grab the valuables. I’ll go look for some money.”

Grenade caught the bag in his mouth and hopped around the room, searching for anything that might be worth selling. Dylan walked to the door on the other side of the room and gently pushed it open. The room beyond looked like a fancy entrance hall. He spotted a couple more doors and stepped into the hall. The chandelier above was lit, which would make him very easy to see if anyone walked in. He rushed to another door and pushed it open. He ran in as soon as he was sure the room behind it was empty.

Paintings littered the walls in the room, each one in an intricate, golden frame. A few small statues sat on pedestals around the floor. This couple must have been pretty rich in order to afford a gallery like this.

Dylan immediately moved to the paintings and began tugging on the frames. He knew from experience that nobles liked to hide their vaults behind paintings in their walls.

On the fifth painting, he pulled on the edge of the frame and it swung outwards. He smirked and rolled his eyes. Rich people were so predictable.

He took the pick out of his pocket again and shoved it in the keyhole. Nobles never thought to get complicated locks, so it only took a minute to open the door. He pulled it open and reached into his cloak for another cloth bag. Jewelry and coins glittered inside the vault. He reached in and swept an armful of gold into the bag. That should be enough to tide them over for a couple months, and once they ran low, they could sell the stuff Grenade grabbed from the lounge.

He stopped short when a high pitched scream echoed in from the lounge. He ran back into the entrance hall and burst through the door. Grenade stood near the back door, the cloth bag in his claws, staring wide-eyed at something across the room. Dylan followed his gaze to another doorway, where the lady from before was standing. Her wide eyes were fixed on Grenade. Her jaw hung open like she’d seen a ghost.

Dylan waved his hand to get her attention. “Hey! Sorry we broke into your house! We got what we came here for, so we’ll just be leaving now. Bye!”

Grenade whirled around and rushed for the open door. Dylan followed behind him, silently cursing at himself for not waiting until the couple had gone to sleep.

“Darling!” the lady shouted behind him. Her voice shook with fear. “Darling, there’s a dragon in here! Help! Please!”

Grenade wiggled through the doorway and Dylan ran after him. Dylan hopped on Grenade’s back as he ran, hefting the bag of gold onto his shoulder. He didn’t like riding dragons, but when they got caught, he didn’t really have much of a choice.

Grenade spread his wings and launched himself off the ground. They didn’t get very far, however. Just as they were rising above the houses, Grenade cried out and collapsed to the ground. Dylan tumbled off his back and almost crashed into the side of a house. He pushed himself to his feet to see the nobleman from earlier standing in the doorway of his house with a crossbow. Grenade scrambled to his feet. Three small arrows were stuck through his wing.

The lady ran out of the house and down the street. “Help! Dragon!” she screamed.

Her husband nocked the crossbow again and took aim for Grenade’s head. Dylan grabbed one of Grenade’s hands and pulled him away from the street and into an alley. There was no way he could get a dragon out of the town without being spotted, so hiding was their best bet.

Grenade and Dylan ran down the alley. Dylan heard footsteps pounding on the dirt behind them and picked up the pace. They’d gotten caught a couple times before, but they’d always escaped in the end. However, they’d never been unable to fly out of the situation, so Dylan figured this would be a bit more challenging than he had anticipated.

He led the two of them towards an alleyway, but he stumbled when he felt a sharp sting in his ankle. He looked down and saw a small arrow sticking out of the flesh.

He heard a distressed screech and whirled around. Another nobleman had run up behind Grenade and wrapped a rope around his neck. Grenade coughed and hacked as the man wrestled him away by the rope.

“No!” Dylan ran towards the man, ignoring the pain in his foot, but he was tackled to the ground a moment later by another person.

Footsteps pounded on the dirt as people on the street rushed to help tie Grenade down. Dylan struggled against the man who had tackled him, but someone else grabbed his hands and forced them behind his back.

“Put that thief in the jailhouse!” someone yelled. “And write this on the execution board! We’ll kill it later tonight!”

Grenade squawked in alarm and squirmed frantically. Dylan tried to pull away from the people holding him back, but it was no use. The last thing he saw of Grenade was his terrified green eyes as the people dragged him down the street.

* * *

Jorel stared with wide eyes at the street ahead of him. Sure, people captured dragons all the time, but the thief who had just been arrested...

Tiger poked her head out of the cloak to look at Jorel. She looked just as shocked as he felt. That thief and the dragon had seemed to be friends. Jorel thought he was the only person in the town who actually gave a shit about dragons.

And yet, this thief had been running right alongside that dragon. He even turned back to help it when the people started attacking it.

“Let’s go back to the execution list,” he whispered. “I want to know when they’re going to kill it.”

Tiger wriggled back into the cloak as Jorel walked down the street.


	3. Jailbreak

Jorel strapped his dagger to his belt as Tiger bounced nervously around the room. It had been about a week since the last execution, and they were both antsy. Last time, they had just barely escaped with the dragon they rescued. And now that they knew there was another person out there who cared about this particular dragon, the stakes were a bit higher.

Jorel reached behind the bookshelf and grabbed an old black cloak and a piece of fabric. “Have you seen my throwing axes anywhere?” he asked as he put on the cape.

Tiger leaped on top of the bookshelf and grabbed something in her mouth. She climbed down the bookshelf and stopped when she was at Jorel’s eye level. Between her teeth were two hatchets, both sharp as razors.

He reached up and took the axes from her mouth. “Thanks.” He strapped one next to his dagger, and the other one on the other side of his belt. “What’s the time?”

Tiger slipped onto a lower shelf and rummaged through a pile of trinkets. She emerged with a pocket watch in her mouth and spit it out. She held the watch with one paw and pressed a button with her nose. The watch popped open and Jorel knelt down to look at it.

“Shit,” Jorel muttered. It was 10:55. The execution was scheduled to start in five minutes.

Of course, they wouldn’t kill the dragon right at eleven. They would bring the dragon from the cage they kept it in and pull it through the streets until they reached the town square. The they would yell about how dangerous dragons were and work the crowd into a frenzy, before finally bringing an axe down on the dragon’s neck.

The whole thing was disgusting to Jorel. What kind of entertainment involved the merciless slaughter of innocent creatures?

Tiger stretched up to deposit her watch in Jorel’s pocket as he tied the black cloth around his lower face. It wasn’t the greatest disguise, but it worked well enough. Tiger crouched down, about to leap onto his shoulder, but Jorel held out a hand.

“Hang on,” he said. “We need to make it look like I killed you.”

Tiger huffed impatiently, but she sat back as Jorel knelt down next to her and unsheathed his dagger. He made a small cut on the palm of his hand. Blood blossomed from the wound. He reached out and smeared it across Tiger’s neck.

He shoved his knife back in its sheath and stood up. “All right. Let’s go.”

Tiger leaped up and draped herself around his shoulders, making sure that her bloody neck was visible. She closed her eyes. Seeing her like that always made Jorel anxious. The mere thought of Tiger being dead was extremely unsettling, and it wasn’t a possibility he liked to dwell on.

As if she knew what he was thinking, Tiger opened her eyes and nudged his face with her nose. He smiled and pet her on the head. “Yeah, I’m fine. Let’s go.”

He brushed the back curtain aside and stepped into the alley.

* * *

The town square was already engulfed in a full blown riot, and the dragon hadn’t even arrived yet.

Jorel pushed his way through the crowd of screaming townspeople, keeping one hand on Tiger to keep her from falling off his shoulders. Carrying a dragon carcass certainly drew some attention to him, but most people were focused on the execution. They probably assumed he was a hunter stopping by to watch the spectacle. Besides, smaller dragons were easier to capture and kill than larger ones, so a single person taking down a creature the size of Tiger wasn’t too unbelievable.

The crowd shouted and screamed as Jorel made his way to the front. He finally stopped. He kept near the front of the crowd so he could reach the middle of the square when he had to, but he stayed far enough from the front that he remained hidden.

“Hey,” a voice said. He turned to his right to see a nobleman staring at Tiger. “Did you kill that?” the man asked.

Jorel simply nodded. The man whistled. “Damn. I’ve only killed the really small ones. You gonna skin it?”

Jorel almost choked with disgust, but he managed a shrug. “Yeah,” he said. “Taking it to the butcher right after this.”

The man smiled. “You’re gonna get some good money for that. You know how much people will pay for dragon meat these days?”

Jorel shook his head, not wanting to continue the conversation. He didn’t care about interacting with some entitled rich guy who killed creatures for money.

Luckily, the man turned away when the yelling in the square grew louder. Jorel stood on his tiptoes to see over the crowd. The dragon had arrived.

It was tied up with dozens of ropes and chains, two ropes knotted around its muzzle and a chain binding its wings to its side. Six men held the ends of the ropes, dragging the creature down the street. The dragon’s feathers were coated in paint and rotten food. No doubt people on the street had been throwing things at it while it was being pulled to the square.

The dragon let out a muffled screech and tried to pull away, stopping the men in their tracks. One of the men kicked at the dragon’s legs and it stumbled forward. The men pulled it into the square and Jorel felt a red-hot ball of anger rise up in his chest. He took a deep breath and managed to stay calm as the men stopped in the middle of the square.

One of the men stepped away from the dragon and cleared his throat. He tried to yell over the crowd, but their screams drowned him out. He shouted again. The people finally began to quiet down.

Once it was quiet enough, the man started speaking. “We know how dangerous these creatures are! Their main goal is to wipe out all of humankind! And we will _not_ stand for such brutal violence!”

Jorel almost snorted, but he stifled it with a cough. The amount of irony in that sentence was almost funny. They wanted to talk about brutal violence? Why didn’t they look at what they were doing right now?

“We will execute them before they execute us!” the man continued. He gestured to the dragon. “This creature sneaked into the house of two townsfolk and tried to eat them in their own home! We will punish this creature for its bloodlust!”

As the crowd began cheering and screaming again, Jorel glanced sideways at Tiger. He tapped her forehead twice with his finger. “Now.”

Tiger’s eyes shot open and she lifted her head. People around them gasped in horror. Tiger launched herself off Jorel’s shoulder and made her way to the middle of the square, hopping across people’s heads along the way. Some people screamed and sprinted out of the square. Others lunged for Tiger, trying to catch her, but she slipped out of their hands and leaped onto one of the guys holding the dragon.

Jorel grabbed his axes from his belt and pushed to the front of the crowd. He dashed towards a man holding the dragon’s ropes. The man barely had time to react before Jorel sliced through the rope and kicked him in the stomach.

Tiger leaped onto the tied up dragon and grabbed a rope in her mouth. She tore at it with her claws and teeth and it snapped. Jorel sliced his axe through another rope, freeing the dragon’s legs.

A man rushed at Jorel, a dagger clutched in his fist. Jorel ducked and kicked the man’s legs out from under him. “Get the muzzle!” he shouted to Tiger.

Tiger crawled up the dragon’s neck and grabbed the ropes binding its mouth. She ripped them apart with her teeth. The dragon blinked in surprise as Tiger turned and hopped onto another man’s head.

The few people that remained of the crowd screamed and started to run. Now that the dragon was mostly free, there wasn’t much that could stop it from biting someone’s head off if it wanted. The noblemen still holding the ropes seemed to realize this as well, because they all dropped the dragon’s bonds and sprinted down the street.

Jorel strapped his axes back to his belt as the square grew empty. Tiger hopped up onto his shoulder and whined. Jorel turned to look at her. Blood dripped from an angry red gash across her face.

He carefully dabbed at the blood with the end of his cloak. “We’ll fix that at home.”

He felt hot breath blow across his face. The dragon had walked up to Jorel and was snuffling at his head. It stepped away and tilted its head.

“We’ll get you out of the town,” Jorel said. “But, that person you were with-”

The dragon squawked before Jorel could finish. It looked frantically around the square, as if the person could appear out of any one of the alleys between the buildings.

Jorel glanced nervously around the square. “We’ll have to get to the jailhouse before anyone comes back. Come on.”

He ran down the street with Tiger around his shoulders. The dragon sprinted after him, kicking up clouds of dirt as its feet pounded against the ground.

* * *

Dylan never thought he’d be arrested, and it wasn’t as experience he’d like to repeat.

No one had even bothered to untie his wrists before they tossed him into a cell. The metal bench that served as a bed was too uncomfortable to sit on for more than five minutes, and the cells were so small that pacing just amounted to him taking three steps and turning around again. He’d managed to get his hands in front of him, but it’s not like that helped him much. His lock pick had fallen out of his pocket somewhere along the way, so he couldn’t get himself out of the cell even if his hands were free.

He heaved a sigh and lay down on the bed. Grenade had been taken away, and he was certain they’d already scheduled an execution for him. A knot formed in his stomach when he realized that Grenade might already be dead. These people didn’t like to wait with their executions.

He looked up when he heard the door to the jailhouse open. Footsteps creaked against the wooden floor. He tried to ignore it, but he sat up when he heard claws scraping against the floor. Was that...?

The happy screech of a dragon echoed just outside his cell. A grin split across his face and he ran up to the door. “Grenade!”

Grenade screeched again and bumped the bars with his nose. Dylan reached through the bars as best he could and scratched Grenade under the chin. He looked Grenade up and down. Paint and rotten food was stuck in his feathers, and his wings were bound to his sides by thick chains. “Man, you’re covered in shit. How did you get away?”

Then a man appeared outside the bars and Dylan blinked in surprise. A small white and red dragon had twined itself around his torso, staring at Dylan with wide red eyes. A dark cloak rested on the man’s shoulders and a black cloth obscured the lower half of his face. His brown eyes travelled all the way down to Dylan’s shoes and then rested on his face.

Dylan lowered the hood of his own cloak and smiled, trying to shake off the feeling that he was being judged. “Hey.”

The man glanced next to him at the dragon on his shoulders. The dragon’s red eyes flickered to the man and then back to Dylan. The man sighed and pulled the cloth off his face. “I’m Jorel. This is Tiger.”

Dylan nodded at them. “I’m Dylan. I’m guessing you rescued Grenade?”

Jorel blinked. “Your dragon’s name is Grenade?”

“Yeah. Long story. Anyway, do you have a knife or anything I can pick this lock with?”

Jorel seemed to hesitate, but he reached for his belt and unsheathed a dagger. “Here.”

Dylan took the knife in both hands and carefully sawed at the ropes binding his wrists. After a moment, the ropes fell away. He reached through the bars and inserted the blade into the padlock on the door. A normal lock pick would have been ideal, but knives worked well enough for simple locks. It took some work, but the lock clicked and he pushed open the door.

“Thanks,” he said, holding out the dagger.

Jorel took it and shoved it back in its sheath. “I take it you can get out of the town on your own?”

Dylan scratched the back of his neck. “Yeah, I don’t think so. I don’t know this place very well.”

Jorel raised an eyebrow. “You knew it well enough to find the nobles’ houses.”

“I just followed a couple home,” Dylan explained. “I have no idea how to get to the forest from here.”

Jorel sighed and looked at his dragon. Tiger nodded and waved her paw, as if prompting him to keep going.

He started walking towards the door. “We can get you out of the town. You want to get to the forest?”

Dylan nodded and followed after him. “Yeah. Either that or a big, wide open space.”

Jorel raised an eyebrow. “Those are two very different things.”

Dylan opened the door. “Which one’s closer?”

Jorel paused and thought about it. “Follow me. And whatever you do, try not to be seen.”

Dylan grinned and left the jailhouse. “Not being seen is my specialty.”

* * *

Jorel watched as Dylan and his dragon wandered around the open field he had led them to. “So, are you guys going to be fine on your own now, or...?”

Dylan knelt down in the grass as if he was looking for something. “Yeah, I guess, but...” He looked up at Jorel. “I’m assuming you’ve never met another dragon companion before?”

Jorel blinked in confusion. “I’m not sure what you mean.”

Dylan pushed some grass aside and scanned the ground. “You know. Dragon companions. People who have connected with a dragon and have special knowledge about certain dragon things.”

Jorel glanced at Tiger, but she looked just as confused as he felt. “I’m sorry, you lost me.”

Dylan raised an eyebrow and stood up. “Aren’t you a dragon handler?”

Jorel shook his head. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Have you ever held a dragon egg?”

Jorel shrugged. He was unsure of where the conversation was going, but he decided to just play along for now. “Once or twice. Sometimes we find eggs outside our house. If we don’t take them in, people will just smash them.”

“So you’ve taken care of hatchlings before?”

“Yeah. They always leave after a few days though.”

Dylan grinned. “That’s dragon handling, homie.”

Jorel blinked. “Homie?”

Grenade squawked and lifted his head out of the grass. He trotted up to Dylan with a large branch between his teeth.

“Nice!” Dylan took the branch and held it by the thinner end. He held it in front of Grenade. “All right, do your thing.”

Jorel and Tiger watched in amazement as Grenade opened his mouth and blew green mist all over the end of the branch. “What is that?”

“He’s a forest dragon,” Dylan said as if that explained everything. “Anyway, it’s flammable.”

“So you’re starting a fire?”

Dylan started digging around in his pockets. “Yeah, if I have any flint.” He pulled a small black rock out of his pocket. He handed the branch back to Grenade and held out a hand. “Can I borrow your knife again?”

Jorel handed him the dagger, curious to see where this was going. Grenade held the branch lower and Dylan struck the blade against the rock. Sparks flew, and after a couple more tries, one landed on the branch and exploded into green flames.

Tiger chirped and leaned towards the fire. Jorel had been tempted to just go back into town and never think about this whole situation again, but his curiosity got the best of him. “What is that for?” he asked.

Dylan tossed Jorel his knife. Jorel fumbled with it and it fell into the grass. He sheathed it as Dylan held the torch high above his head. “I’m calling a friend,” he said with a smirk.


	4. Companions

Jordon never liked how dangerous it was for dragons to live on Sunset Island. Most humans were downright cruel to dragons. Many of the creatures ended up hurt because of people.

Jordon helped dragons when they got hurt. He and Viral flew around the whole island, keeping an eye out for injured dragons. It was a small thing, but it helped reverse some of the damage humans had caused. Plus, it gave Jordon an excuse to stay away from towns and cities. No one would want him there if they found out he was a dragon healer.

He and Viral had set down next to a lake so Viral could eat, but Jordon found a few sick dragons wandering nearby and decided to help. As Viral waded through the water and searched for fish, Jordon sat down on the shore with the dragons and got to work.

The smallest of the dragons, a lithe one with green feathers, stared over his shoulder as he crushed up some sun-dried herbs with a mortar and pestle. The dragon leaned in and sniffed at the herbs, but he held the bowl away from it.

“Hang on,” he said. “It’s not done.” He reached into his bag and pulled out a few dried flower buds. He put them in the mortar and crushed them into the rest of the powder. “Hey Viral!” he shouted.

Viral lifted his head out of the water, a large fish tail sticking out of his mouth. He tipped his head back and swallowed the fish before stepping closer.

Jordon held up the mortar. “Can you get me some algae?”

Viral scanned the water for a moment before dipping his head back in. He came up a moment later with some green algae on his nose. He leaned down to Jordon’s level.

Jordon took the algae and tossed it in the mortar. “Thanks.” He mixed it in and held the bowl up to his face to examine his concoction. Once he was sure he’d done it right, he held it up to the dragons. “Here you go.”

One of them hesitantly leaned down and sniffed at the bowl. Then it licked up some of the gooey mixture and chewed. The others stuck their noses into the bowl, and after a few moments, the mortar was empty.

Jordon stood up and walked to the water to rinse out the bowl. The dragons hopped around on the sand, already looking much better than they were before.

He stood up and shoved his stuff back into his bag. “You ready to go?”

Viral huffed, but he trudged out of the water. He braced his legs in the sand and Jordon’s eyes widened. “Wait, no! Not now!”

Viral shook his entire body from head to tail. Water flew off his scales and splattered on the ground. The dragons scampered away, but Jordon was soaked within seconds.

Viral lowered his head to look at Jordon. Jordon could have sworn he was smirking, but dragons’ facial expressions were too hard for him to read. He sighed and hopped up onto Viral’s back. “Yeah, yeah. Thanks for that. Can we leave now?”

Viral rolled his eyes, but he leaped into the air and took off into the sky.

* * *

Being a dragon tamer, Danny had always been good at communicating with dragons. He could tell the difference between an angry growl and a playful one, but more importantly, he understood their facial expressions and body language. He could hold full conversations with dragons if he wanted to.

It was a useful skill. All of the dragons who stopped by his home usually needed help. He wasn’t a dragon keeper, so he didn’t know what kind of food they wanted or if they needed any specific kind of shelter. The dragons never stayed very long. Even though it worked fine for Danny and Lion, an abandoned town of burned out buildings probably wasn’t an ideal place for most dragons to make their homes.

He sat outside on the street as Lion visited with the sick dragon that had arrived earlier. He had abandoned the book about dreams and moved on to one about dragons. He would never be a dragon keeper, but the least he could do was memorize the needs of some dragons.

Danny felt hot breath on his forehead and looked up. Lion stood in front of him, staring down at him with concern written on her face.

He sighed. “I told you, I don’t even remember what the dream was about. I’m completely fine. Don’t worry about it.”

Lion licked at his head, making some of his hair stick straight up. He smoothed it down and scratched her under the chin. “I said I’m fine.” He looked up at the sky. “Do you know if that grey dragon is going to show up soon?”

Lion shrugged. She lowered herself to ground to lay next to Danny. He leaned back against her and turned back to his book.

* * *

Jordon scanned the ground with his goggles as he and Viral flew above a town. “Not seeing any injured dragons,” Jordon reported. “I don’t think there’s been an execution here either. I don’t see any blood.”

The two of them had been flying around for most of the day, and it was starting to get late. They did this almost every day, but sometimes they would stop and spend a little while in some random field or on a hill somewhere, just to give themselves a break. They rarely approached towns. It wasn’t like Jordon desperately needed to interact with people. Besides, he could make his own food. Buying it was just a waste of time.

As they soared through the sky, Jordon spotted a faint light in a field just beyond the borders of the town. “Hang on, I think I see something.” He zoomed in with his goggles to see a small green flame flickering above the grass.

He lifted his goggles and pointed. “Let’s set down there.”

Viral grunted in response and slowed his pace. They reached the field and Viral lowered himself onto the ground, his wings blowing a gust of wind through the grass. He stood on all fours and crouched to the ground to let Jordon slide off his back. Once he was on the ground, he looked around for the green light and grinned when he saw where it was coming from.

A tall man with shoulder length brown hair walked up to Jordon with a smile on his face, his black and yellow dragon stomping along behind him. “Hey man! How you been?”

“Hey, Dylan,” Jordon said. He gestured to the green torch in Dylan’s hand. “How’d you do that?”

Dylan shrugged. “Forest dragon breath.” He gestured to Grenade. The dragon’s wings were tied up with chains. Rotten food and paint was caught in his feathers. “Anyway, some assholes shot Grenade’s wing with a crossbow. I’d need my lock pick for the lock on the chains, so I can’t do much about that now.”

Jordon noticed something moving behind Dylan and squinted into the darkness. A man with dark hair and a white dragon twined around his torso slowly walked towards them, staring up at Viral with wide eyes. “That’s the biggest dragon I’ve ever seen,” he whispered as soon as he reached them.

Dylan snorted. “Homie, if the dragon can lie down and you’re still taller than its head, it’s not that big. You haven’t ever left that town, have you?”

The man tore his eyes away from Viral and crossed his arms. “Yes I have,” he said coldly. “I just... don’t see a lot of big dragons.”

Jordon glanced at Dylan. “You made a friend?”

“We’ve known each other for ten minutes,” the man said. “I’d say we’re acquaintances, at best.”

Dylan shrugged and slung an arm over the man’s shoulders. “Don’t mind him. Guys, this is Jorel and Tiger. Jorel and Tiger, meet Jordon and Viral.”

Trying to be polite, Jordon smiled and waved. “Hey.”

Jorel glanced at his dragon. She looked pointedly at him, than at Jordon, then back to Jorel. Jorel sighed. “It’s nice to meet you,” he said finally. He shrugged Dylan’s arm off his shoulders.

“So you need me to heal his wing?” Jordon asked, walking up to Grenade.

Dylan nodded. “Yep.” He pointed to Jorel and his dragon. “Tiger’s got a scratch on her face, too. You think you can fix that up?”

Jorel tensed and put a hand on Tiger’s head. “I don’t...”

“I’ll just start with Grenade,” Jordon said. Grenade lowered himself to the ground and Jordon sat next to him. “Hang on, I think I’ve got your spare pick in my bag.” He reached into his bag and rummaged around for a moment. He pulled out a piece of metal and tossed it to Dylan. “Here.”

Dylan caught the pick and knelt next to Grenade. He shoved the pick in the padlock on the chains and wiggled it around. It took a minute, but the lock fell away and he carefully untangled the chains from Grenade’s wings. One of the wings had three small arrows sticking straight through it.

Jordon moved closer and placed a hand on the injured wing. He gently guided the wing closer to examine it. He’d have to cut off the arrowheads so he could remove the arrows, but overall, it wouldn’t be a difficult thing to fix.

Jorel stepped closer as Jordon dug through his bag for his clippers. “So who are you, exactly?”

“Dragon healer,” Jordon answered as he pulled out a pair of clippers. “Stay still,” he warned Grenade. He raised the clippers to the arrows and carefully sliced through the wood. The arrowheads fell to the grass and he plucked the arrow shafts from Grenade’s wing.

“So you’re like a doctor?” Jorel asked.

Jordon flicked the last arrow shaft into the grass. “Specifically for dragons, yeah. Herbs and plants in general are like magic for them. That shit works for anything.” He grabbed his mortar and pestle out of his bag. “What about you? What do you do?”

Jorel hesitated. “I... I’m not-”

“He’s a dragon handler,” Dylan answered. “Seems pretty good at it too.”

Jordon tossed some dried herbs into the bowl and wracked his brain. “Uh... What do handlers do again?”

Dylan shrugged. “Raise hatchlings, take care of eggs. You know.”

Jorel furrowed his brow and scratched Tiger behind the horns. “I never knew there was a name for what I do. I didn’t even know dragon companions were a thing.”

Jordon began to crush the herbs into a fine powder. “Well, it’s not like there are a lot of us. I thought it was just me and Dylan.”

Dylan grinned and nudged Jorel with his elbow. “Welcome to the club.”

Jordon reached into his bag and took out his canteen. He poured a couple drops of water into his mortar and mixed it into the powder until it turned into a thick paste. He scooped some of it out with his finger and gently spread it across the holes in Grenade’s wing. He made sure to get under the feathers so it would get into the wounds.

He stood up. “We can wash that off in about ten minutes. It’ll be healed by then.” He turned to Jorel. “I can fix that cut if you want me to.”

Jorel and Tiger glanced at each other. Tiger shrugged and Jorel stepped forward. “Sure.”

Tiger lifted her head and Jordon dabbed some of the paste onto the cut. It wasn’t bleeding, but it was still red and raw. Jorel seemed pretty cautious, and Jordon hoped that he’d trust him a little more after Tiger’s wound was healed. Like Dylan said, there weren’t many of them. It would be nice to have some friends who cared about dragons- or friends in general.

Jordon closed up his bag. “Think we’re gonna visit that burned up village. Wanna come?”

“Fuck yeah!” Dylan said. He tossed the still lit torch behind him. “Let’s go!”

Jorel stared at the torch. “That’s gonna set the field on fire.”

Dylan waved his hand dismissively. “Nah, it’s doesn’t burn live plants.” He grinned. “You wanna come with us? It’s not every day we meet a dragon handler.”

“Or even other human beings,” Jordon added. “We’re both starved for social interaction. We could use some company.”

Jorel looked at Tiger again. She whined at him and he took a deep breath. “I guess we’ve got nothing better to do.”

Jordon climbed up onto Viral’s neck. “Hop on!”

* * *

Danny tied a bandage around the leg of another injured dragon. “How do you guys keep getting hurt?”

The dragon huffed in annoyance and narrowed its eyes at another dragon. The other dragon hunched its shoulders in shame.

“I’m sure it wasn’t completely his fault,” Danny said. “It’s not a huge deal.”

The injured dragon rolled its eyes, but it turned forward and let Danny finish with the bandages.

Danny tied them in place and stood up. “There you go.”

The dragon nudged Danny with its nose in thanks. It shot one last glare at its friend before turning and limping away.

The dragon’s friend ran after it. Danny tossed aside the rest of the cloth he’d been using as bandages and turned his attention to the sky. It was already dark, but he didn’t mind. Being away from the towns, he could see the stars a lot better. Besides, Lion had lit all of the lanterns earlier, so it wasn’t like he couldn’t see.

His view of the stars was blocked momentarily by a large grey shape flying across the sky. He watched as it slowed and then lowered itself to the ground.

Danny ignored it and turned to go back inside his house. There was a large grey and white dragon that sometimes showed up and took a few injured dragons to better places. Some of them just needed habitats or climates to suit their own needs, while others just didn’t want to live in a burned up town. He always went inside when that dragon came around. Some dragons just didn’t like interacting with humans, and he didn’t know if that was the case with this one. He preferred to stay away just in case.

He stopped short when he heard a voice- an actual, _human_ voice. It was something he hadn’t heard in years, so hearing it here of all places made him freeze in his tracks. He turned around to look at the grey dragon. It stood there on all fours like usual, but Danny could have sworn he heard a voice coming from its direction.

He turned and made his way back down the street. Lion dashed towards him, her eyes wide. She grunted and followed him towards the dragon. She looked shocked, and Danny was sure he did, too.

The grey dragon glanced around, but its eyes locked onto Danny and it paused. It blinked, staring at him with bright orange eyes. It turned its head and made a low rumbling sound in its throat.

He heard the voice speak again. “Viral? What’s wrong?”

There was a brief second of silence. Then a man stepped out from behind the row of ridges on the dragons back. Brass goggles sat on top of his head and a leather bag was slung over his shoulder. He locked eyes with Danny and gasped. “Holy fuck!” He turned around and spoke to someone behind the ridges. “Yo, there’s a person out here!”

The man faced Danny again and slid down the dragon’s shoulder. He ran towards Danny, a huge grin on his face, and Danny instinctively started backing away. He hadn’t seen another human in years, and seeing one sprinting towards him caught him off guard.

Then his vision was obscured by feathery gold wings. Lion stepped in front of him, her wings spread to block the man from reaching him. Danny couldn’t see her face, but her hackles were raised and she planted her feet in a defensive stance.

“Whoa,” the man’s voice said. “Metallic fur. Cool.”

Danny heard footsteps, and another voice spoke. “Hey homie. You said something about another person?”

“Well, yeah, but I don’t think his bodyguard is gonna let us actually talk to him.” There was a pause. “At least I think it’s a he. I only saw him for a second.”

More footsteps. “What is this place?” a new voice asked. This voice was a little quiet, as if its owner was mystified by the horrifically ruined buildings.

Danny hesitantly stepped forward. He reached out and gently pushed Lion’s wing aside to peek out from behind it.

Three men immediately turned to look at him. One of them had brown hair that rested on his shoulders in curls. A tall black dragon with green eyes and a yellow belly stood behind him, his head tilted curiously at Danny. Next to him was the guy with the goggles. He looked a little scruffy, but his smile never left his face. Danny assumed that he was the companion of the big grey dragon. The guy on the other side of him looked a bit less friendly. He pulled the hood of his cloak lower over his face and avoided and Danny’s gaze. The long white dragon on his shoulders, however, perked up as soon as Danny looked at her.

Danny pushed Lion’s wing away and stepped out from behind her. “Hi,” he said quietly.

The man with goggles stepped forward and held out his hand. “Hey. I’m Jordon.”

Danny stared at his hand. What was he doing? He seemed to be waiting for something, but Danny didn’t know what it was.

The man shrugged and let his hand fall back to his side. “All right. Not a people person. I get it.” He slung an arm around the shoulders of the man with the long hair. “This is Dylan and his friend, Grenade. And that’s Jorel and Tiger,” he finished, gesturing to the man with the white dragon on his shoulders. “Oh!” He turned around and pointed to the large grey dragon. “And that’s Viral.” He turned back to Danny with the friendly smile still on his lips. “What’s your name?”

Danny glanced next to him at Lion. She stared back at him with skepticism etched on every feature of her face. He stepped closer to her as she folded her wings back to her sides. “I’m Danny. This is Lion.”

Lion glared at the three men with cold yellow eyes. Jordon didn’t seem to notice or care, because he just kept talking as if there wasn’t a defensive dragon that could kill him with a snap of her jaws standing right in front of him.

“Damn, I really should have known that there was a person here,” he said. “I mean, the bandages on the dragons we pick up- no dragon could have done that. They don’t even have thumbs!”

“Some of them do,” Dylan pointed out. Behind him, Grenade smiled proudly and flexed his three fingers on each hand.

“How long have you been here?” Jorel asked. He had finally looked up at Danny, but he seemed to be looking anywhere but his eyes. Danny guessed that Jorel wasn’t exactly a “people person”, as Jordon had put it.

Danny looked up at Lion. “Maybe... twenty years?”

Dylan’s eyes widened. “Twenty years? That’s a long time, man.”

Danny shrugged. “It’s not like I’ve been lonely at all.”

Jordon held up his hands. “Wait a second. You haven’t seen another person in _twenty years_?” He took off his goggles and shoved them into his bag. “Okay, that’s it. We’re your friends now.”

Danny blinked. “What?”

Jorel raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t agree to this either-”

“Dude, come on,” Dylan said. “We’re the only four dragon companions in all of Angeles, or at least the only ones we know of. I don’t think it would be a bad thing if we all stuck together for a bit.”

Danny looked at each of them in turn. Dylan and Jordon seemed friendly enough, and it was possible that Jorel was just a bit shy. Maybe speaking to people after so long would be a good thing.

“You can stay here for a while,” Danny offered. “I mean, if you want. A lot of the houses are pretty wrecked, but some of them aren’t bad.”

Jorel’s shoulders tensed. “I don’t know...”

Dylan nudged Jorel with his elbow. “Come on, man. There are only four of us. Getting to know each other might be fun.”

Jorel glanced at each of them and then turned to Tiger. She nodded once and he sighed. “Okay. I’ll stay for a few hours. But then we’re leaving.”

Danny looked up at Lion and gave her a reassuring smile. Maybe it was time he started talking to people. Besides, these guys seemed nice. What could go wrong?


	5. The Legend

On the small island just south of Sunset, the statues of the dragon and the man sat untouched. No one had been there in centuries, aside from some wildlife. Oddly enough, it was often butterflies that liked to settle around the area.

A few deer stepped into the large pond to drink. Flowers and grass broke the surface of the water, and butterflies fluttered down to rest on them. It was peaceful, like it always was.

A deafening crack echoed across the water. The deer startled and scampered away from the pond. The butterflies didn’t budge. In the left eye of the dragon statue was a tiny fracture.

Another crack resonated through the air. The deer ran away. The crack in the eye of the man’s statue had lengthened and branched over the rest of its face. They spread across the statue’s body, each crack louder than a gunshot. The fractures snaked across both statues. Pieces of rock began to fall away, growing bigger as the cracks went down their bodies. Stone slid off the dragon statue and plummeted to the ground, revealing dark blue scales under the rock. The dragon’s light orange wings were slowly uncovered as pieces of stone fell around the crumbling statue of the man.

The last of the stone fell away from both statues and the land went quiet. The man who had been hidden under the stone opened his eyes and blinked. He took a deep, shaky, breath as if he hadn’t felt air in centuries. He glanced around and realized that he was sitting in water. He braced his arms on the sword in front of him and pushed himself to his feet. He stumbled, but he managed to right himself. He turned to the dragon and placed a hand on its orange wing. He tried to speak, but all that came out was a cough. Stony dust blew from his lips as he hacked.

His coughing fit subsided and he tried again. “Monarch?” he croaked.

The only response he received was a strangled cough. Dust flew from the dragon’s mouth, enough to cover an entire house. _George,_ said a deep voice in his head. _What time is it?_

George looked up at the sky. The sun touched the horizon, turning the sky as orange as Monarch’s wings. “Don’t know,” he answered. “It’s getting late, though.”

He looked down at the sword in the water. He hadn’t taken his hand off the pommel since he stood up. He wrapped both hands around the hilt and pulled. The blade left the ground easily. He held it in his hands for a moment, feeling the familiar grip in his palms. A small monarch butterfly left its flower and fluttered over to rest on the pommel.

The insect flew away and George looked to the empty sheath on the left side of his belt. He held the sword in his right hand and slid it into the sheath. He turned to look at the dragon. “Monarch, we have to get up.”

Monarch sighed, but he opened his bright blue eyes. He raised his massive orange wings, the patterns of which resembled those of a monarch butterfly. George ducked as leftover stone fell from Monarch’s body. Monarch braced his feet against the ground and pushed himself up. When Monarch was lying down, George was only tall enough to look the dragon in the eyes. Standing up, he towered over the ruins around the pond.

Monarch shook the dust from his body as George dusted himself off. _Can you sense them?_ Monarch’s voice asked in his head.

George paused as if he was listening for something. He began to feel some sort of buzz in the back of his head. “Yeah,” he said. “Only four of them, though. The other two...”

Monarch lowered his head to look at George. _What about them?_

George sighed. “Two of them bailed. They’re not on Sunset Island anymore.”

Monarch huffed in annoyance. _Any good news?_

George nodded. “Yeah. The last four are all in the same place. They should be easy to find.”

_I hope we can do this with only five of you._

George nodded. “I hope so too.” He walked up to Monarch and hopped up onto the back of his neck. He settled between two of the white spines going down Monarch’s back. The spines were pretty tall, but George could see over them just fine. Reins had been tied to the two horns protruding from Monarch’s head. George reached forward and took them in his hands. Monarch spread his wings and took off into the sky.

* * *

Jorel and Tiger stared in amazement as Dylan flipped through one of Danny’s books. “Wait... so the colour of a dragon’s eyes determines what kind of climate they prefer?”

“And their habitat,” Dylan added. “Sometimes it helps you figure out their diet, too. Oh, and it tells you what kind of breath they have.”

Jorel blinked. “Breath?”

Jordon walked over and dumped a few old pieces of wood onto the fire Viral had made for them. “Yeah. Viral’s a fire dragon. He should be living in a volcano, but he stays here because he doesn’t want to go anywhere I can’t live. That’s also why he has fire breath.

Viral lifted his head and smiled proudly. Jordon rolled his eyes and sat down next to him. “Yeah, yeah. You’re so impressive.”

“Then...” Jorel turned to Tiger. “Then what kind of dragon is Tiger?”

“She’s a desert dragon,” Danny answered quietly. He sat near the fire with Lion curled up at his side. He was still pretty wary of the others, but watching Jorel become more and more amazed as the rest of them told him about dragon stuff was entertaining.

Tiger squeaked and leaned towards the book. “She wants to know what kind of breath she has,” Danny translated.

Grenade leaned over Dylan’s shoulder as he turned another page. “Desert dragons just have really hot breath,” he answered. “It’s not exactly as exciting as snow or shadow dragons, but getting a blast of desert dragon breath in the face? It might as well be fire, honestly. That shit burns like a motherfucker.”

Jorel leaned his chin on his hand. “What about other kinds of dragons?”

Dylan gestured to Lion. “I mean, snow and shadow dragons are cool, but light dragons? You should see their breath in the dark. Coolest shit I’ve ever seen.”

Everyone turned to Danny and Lion. Lion rolled her eyes, but she took a deep breath and opened her mouth. Bright, glowing, yellow mist seeped from her maw and spilled onto the ground, illuminating the small area around the fire.

Jordon grinned and nudged Viral. “Looks like you’ve been upstaged.”

No matter how many times he saw light dragon breath, Dylan always found it mystifying. “See?” He watched as the mist slowly dissipated, leaving them in the light of the fire once again. “Fuckin’ cool.”

Grenade grumbled and narrowed his eyes. Dylan scratched Grenade behind the horns. “Yeah, you’re still cool too. Don’t get jealous.”

Tiger opened her mouth and exhaled. Jorel saw waves of heat rolling off her tongue. She looked up at Lion as if waiting for something.

Lion snorted a little, but Jorel saw her mouth turn upward in a smile. She blew another stream of mist out of her mouth, and Tiger followed up with a blast of hot breath. She turned back to Jorel, looking very proud of herself.

“Very nice,” Jorel said. “So are those all of the kinds of dragons?” he asked Dylan, still curious.

Dylan shrugged and shut the book. “Well, there are water dragons, but most of them stay in oceans. I’ve got a few back home, but you won’t really find any unless you go fishing.”

“Or unless you go to the Keep,” Jordon added, leaning back against Viral.

The other three all turned to him. “The Keep?” Jorel asked. “What’s that?”

Jordon glanced at all of their faces. Even Dylan looked confused. “Are you serious?” he asked. “You guys have never heard of the Guardian’s Keep?”

Danny shook his head. “Nope.”

Dylan shrugged. “Never heard of it, homie.”

Jordon was stunned. “It’s only one of the most talked about legends in all of Sunset! You know, the Guardian’s Keep? The Great Dragons? Didn’t your parents ever tell you stories about this when you were kids?”

“Grew up on the streets,” Jorel said. “No parents.”

“I ran away,” Dylan added.

“My parents died when I was four,” Danny piped up.

Jordon stared at them. “Wow. Okay. Well, buckle up then, because I’m gonna tell you guys a fuckin’ story.”

“You can tell a story from memory?” Danny asked.

Jordon ignored him and cleared his throat. “It’s a cautionary tale for kids about how dangerous dragons are. The legend says that there were three huge dragons that lived in three different places throughout Angeles. There was the Guardian, the Imperial, and the Jailer, and they were the biggest dragons in the whole realm. You know those few islands just south of Sunset? The Guardian lived on the bigger island, right in the middle of it. It was a huge water dragon. People said the water it spat could either freeze you where you stood or boil you alive, and it could hit its target from over a mile away.”

“Where does the cautionary tale part happen?” Dylan asked.

“Well, about a thousand years ago, there was this period of time where humans wanted to take all the land in Angeles,” Jordon continued. “Humans found that there were places other than just Sunset Island and decided to try taking the land. What they didn’t know was that these places were full of dragons. They were going for mass colonization, but it was more of a massacre. The humans didn’t stand a chance, but they just kept sending more people. Eventually, they ran out of funds and everyone who survived went back, but they accidentally brought a few stowaways back on their ships.”

“Dragons?” Jorel guessed.

Jordon nodded. “Yep. So that’s how dragons ended up on Sunset Island.”

“But what about these Great Dragons?” Danny asked.

“One of them singlehandedly destroyed an entire fleet of ships that was going to attack its keep,” Jordon explained. “The other one didn’t even get to see any humans because the rest of the dragons destroyed them first. But the Guardian was different from them. It had a companion. A dragon rider.”

Dylan and Grenade both leaned forward, absolutely invested in the story. “Damn,” Dylan whispered.

Jordon grinned. Three pairs of human eyes and four pairs of dragon ones were completely fixated on him. He enjoyed being in the spotlight. “Yeah, ‘damn’. It was said that the rider was the most dangerous human ever. He was over six feet tall, stronger than an ox, and wielded a blade that could kill any living creature with a single swipe. The Guardian was huge, but its rider was just as dangerous. Anyone who crossed the two of them didn’t live to tell the tale.”

“But obviously someone did, right?” Jorel pointed out. “Otherwise no one would know about them.”

“Yeah,” Jordon sighed. “Unfortunately, the humans hated dragons for killing so many of them. They turned their attention to the closest Great Dragon, hoping that if they killed it, it would send a message to all dragons that they were nothing to mess with. The dragon and its rider tried to fend off the humans, but the people managed to place a curse on them that turned them into statues. That’s why the Guardian hasn’t come to Sunset at all. It’s been frozen in stone with its rider for a thousand years.”

Danny furrowed his brow. “But are there actually statues on that island?”

Jordon patted Viral’s side. “Hell yeah there are. We’ve seen ‘em. The dragon is at least twice Viral’s size, and I can’t even imagine how big its wings would be if they were stretched out. The rider isn’t standing, but he definitely looks big. We don’t go see it often because we’re usually busy, but we went to see them a couple times. All the legends say he was a horrible man who killed without remorse and that the Guardian is an uncontrollable beast that destroys anything it sees, but the statues really don’t look that way. They look more like...”

His voice trailed off when he saw a silhouette block the moon for a brief moment. He scanned the sky and caught sight of a humongous shape soaring directly towards them over the burned up town.

“What did they look like?” Dylan prompted.

The other three whirled around when a huge gust of wind sent their fire dancing. Another gust blew over them and the fire flickered out, leaving them in darkness. Four huge scaly paws touched the ground, sending up clouds of dirt and old ashes. Two large wings blocked out the moon, attached to the monstrous silhouette of a dragon.

All eight dragons and their companions scrambled away. Lion opened her mouth and blew glowing mist on the ground so they could see, but the four men weren’t sure if that made it worse or better.

A humongous dragon stood before them. Its blue hide was speckled with splotches of navy blue, which contrasted beautifully with its orange wings that seemed to resemble those of a monarch butterfly. Two large horns protruded from its head, and long strands of orange fur dangled from its chin. Its light blue eyes glared down at the eight of them, practically glowing in the darkness. White spikes trailed down its spine, and sitting between two of the spikes on the beast’s neck was a man. It was difficult to see him because he was so high up, but in his hands was a set of reins that were tied to the dragon’s horns.

Jordon stared in shock at the creature as the light from Lion’s mist slowly faded away. “Like that,” he whispered.


	6. Guardian

Jorel, Dylan, Jordon, Danny, and their dragons all stood frozen as the monstrous dragon before them lowered its head to their level. If what Jordon said about it was true, it could and would kill all of them if it wanted to. None of them dared to move.

The dragon rested its head on the ground in front of them. The man swung his legs to one side and slid off the dragon’s neck. Jorel heard heavy footsteps walking towards them. Tiger whined and ducked into his cloak.

Lion breathed more glowing mist onto the ground, and the man stepped into the light. His left hand rested on the pommel of the sword at his belt. A black cloak was clasped around his shoulders, his hood keeping most of his features in hidden in shadow.

The man reached up and lowered his hood. Lion spat out more mist, and his scruffy face became visible. He looked at each of them in turn, his expression completely neutral and emotionless.

A second passed, and Dylan decided to break the silence. “Hi,” he said. He stepped forward and held out his hand. “I’m Dylan Alvarez.”

Surprise flashed across the man’s face and he stared down at Dylan’s hand. He hesitantly took Dylan’s hand and shook it. “George Ragan.” His voice was hoarse, as if he hadn’t spoken in years.

Dylan shoved his hands in the pockets of his pants and stared up at the dragon. “Damn. That thing’s huge.”

Jordon walked up and gently swatted Dylan on the arm. “Dude, that ‘thing’ is the Guardian,” he hissed. “Did you not listen to anything I just said?”

Jorel came up to them, staring at the dragon with wide eyes. “Holy shit... That’s... that’s a big dragon.” He shook himself out of his stupor for a moment and looked at George. “I’m Jorel Decker. This is Tiger,” he added, gesturing to his dragon. He looked back up at the Guardian and shook his head. “Holy fuck, man...”

Danny’s gaze flickered from the dragon to George as Lion blew mist across the fire pit. “Uh... I’m Danny. Daniel. Daniel Murillo. I mean, I go by Danny, but Daniel is... okay. I don’t usually go by that, so I don’t really know why I introduced myself with that, but... it’s Danny.” He stepped back. He looked a little embarrassed.

“I’m Jordon Terrell,” Jordon said. “And...” His voice trailed off as he stared at the Guardian. “You’re... here. I’m sorry, dude, this is fucking crazy. You’re literally a fucking legend, and you’re _here_. What are you doing? Why are you not statues anymore?”

George glanced at his dragon. “It’s complicated, to say the least. But to put it lightly, we need your help. All of you.”

Dylan blinked. “Why?”

George looked at each of them in turn. “There’s something happening in Angeles. It’s the reason we woke up. Something is going to happen, and we need your help to fix it. You should all come with us back to the Keep.”

“What exactly do you need us to help with?” Jorel asked. “I’ve already been dragged along on one trip to some mysterious place that I’ve never heard of. I’d like to know where we’re going before you take us along with you.”

Jordon half expected George to draw his blade and slice Jorel into pieces, but instead he just nodded. “Yeah, okay. I get it. Sit down and I’ll explain.”

* * *

Viral relit the fire and each dragon settled down next to their respective companions. The Guardian had a difficult time lying down in the street, but most of the houses there were already ruined anyway. It set down behind George, who sat across from Jordon on the other side of the fire pit.

“So, you already know about the humans trying to take over the whole world and everything?” George asked.

“Yeah,” Dylan said. “Jordon told us about it.”

“You guys fought off a bunch of humans who were trying to take your home,” Jorel said. “And then they turned you to stone.”

To Jordon’s surprise, George snorted. “No, they didn’t turn us into stone. We drove the people away and then did that ourselves.”

Jordon leaned forward. “What? But all the legends-”

“Why would you turn yourselves into stone?” Danny wondered.

The Guardian growled. The sound was so loud, Danny almost felt the ground shake.

George nodded as if the Guardian had actually spoken. “Yeah. We had to be here to meet you four. We decided to hibernate for a while until you came around.”

Jorel leaned forward. “Us? Why us?”

George and his dragon exchanged a glance. “We were only supposed to come out of hibernation when we were needed. As soon as some kind of threat came to Angeles, we would automatically wake up so we could find six other dragon companions to help us protect the realm. There’s this big stone door near our keep that we think is related to this somehow. We’re pretty sure it can only be opened by a group of heroes determined to protect Angeles.”

“Hold up,” Dylan interrupted. “You want us to be heroes?”

“I don’t think I’m qualified for that position,” Jorel said.

George sighed. “Well, there were two other people I was hoping would be here to make this easier, but I think they bailed. They aren’t even on Sunset Island anymore. They might have figured out that they were dragon companions and bailed because they didn’t want to be chosen for this. I can’t sense them at all. But whether we have their help or not, something is going to happen, and we need to be ready to fight it.”

They all fell silent, trying to process this information. None of them really wanted to leave their lives behind and try to be heroes, but if it could protect the world from whatever was supposed to happen, maybe it was worth it.

Danny pulled his legs to his chest and rested his chin on his knees. “I don’t know. I mean, I’ve never really fought anything in my life. Whatever this threat is, it might be too much for us to handle.”

“Yeah,” Jorel agreed. “It’s not guaranteed that we’ll be able to stop whatever’s going to happen. Especially if there are two people who completely bailed on this whole thing.”

“Well, we should at least try,” Dylan argued. “If Angeles is in danger, we owe it to all the people and dragons here to stop this threat and save the world.”

“If we do something, there’s at least a chance that we’ll be able to stop it,” Jordon added. “Would you rather give up now and let the world get destroyed, or would you rather do something to help save it?”

Jorel and Tiger glanced at each other. He sighed. “Fine. We’re in.”

They all turned to Danny. He ran a hand through his hair and fixed his gaze on the ground. “I... I don’t know. I haven’t spoken to anyone in twenty years, and the first people I talk to want me to leave behind everything I know and go save the world. I just...” He took a deep breath. “Can I think about it? I’ll decide in the morning. I need some time.”

Dylan’s eyes widened. “Oh shit, I might need time, too! I’ll have to stock up on food for my dragons, get some ice for the snow dragons, fill up the pond for the water dragons-” He stood up. “Jordan, can you fly me and Grenade back to the forest?”

Jordon stood up. “Sure. We’ve got to stock up on herbs, anyway.”

Jordon, Grenade, and Dylan hopped onto Viral’s back. “We’ll be back!” Jordon called. Viral spread his wings and took off.

Jorel watched as they flew away. “Well, there goes my ride.” He stood up. “Can I crash in one of the houses around here?” he asked Danny.

Danny nodded. Tiger hopped onto Jorel’s shoulders as he stood and walked down a street.

Danny hunched his shoulders and leaned against Lion. Now he was left alone with supposedly the most dangerous person and dragon in the realm. He wondered if George hated him because he didn’t want to be a hero. It had been so long since he’d interacted with people. Trying to gauge George’s emotions was almost giving Danny a headache.

The Guardian, however, was easy to read. It looked around the town with curiosity, sniffing at the air and narrowing its eyes when it spotted something interesting. It glanced at Danny with an apologetic look on its face before turning and snuffling at something on the ground.

“Sorry for springing this on you,” George said suddenly, startling Danny out of his stupor. “I just had to find some people who might be able to help.”

Danny nodded. George’s face remained neutral, so Danny didn’t know if he actually meant it or not. What was he even supposed to do in this situation? Offer the guy some food? A place to sleep? Did he even _want_ to sleep since he’d already been doing so for a thousand years?

George pushed himself to his feet and walked over to the Guardian’s neck. “We’re going to go fly around for a bit,” he said, hoisting himself up onto the dragon. He settled between two of the spikes on its neck and grabbed the reins. “We’ll be back. And sorry again for-”

Danny shook his head. “It’s fine.”

George studied Danny’s face for a moment. He sighed and tightened his grip on the reins. The Guardian raised its wings, and a gust of wind sent ashes dancing across the street. It launched itself off the ground. The fire flickered, but it held as the dragon and its rider soared into the night sky.

Lion nudged Danny with her nose and blinked at him. “Yeah, I’m okay,” he reassured her.

She rested her chin on his head and purred. He leaned against her and took a deep breath, at a loss for what to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I missed an update, my family went on a holiday for a few days. This chapter was short, but the next one will be longer!


	7. Heroes

Four large dragon paws touched the ground as Viral landed back in the burned village the next morning. Jordon, Dylan, and Grenade hopped off of Viral’s back. Jorel was sitting at the ashy fire pit. Tiger scampered around him, snatching up roaches and grasshoppers off the ground.

“Where are George and the Guardian?” Jordon asked as he sat down across from Jorel.

Jorel shrugged. “I saw them fly away last night, but I think they’re coming back. Don’t know where Danny is either.” He looked up at Dylan. “Did you manage to avoid getting arrested?”

Dylan rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, we’re fine. Robbed some nobles’ houses and bought some stuff for my dragons. They’re all set for the next little while.”

Jorel heard the distant leathery sound of wings flapping and looked up. The Guardian swooped down and landed on the street. Its orange wings almost blended in with the golden light of the sunrise on the horizon.

The dragon slowed to a stop and lowered its head. George looked down at them. One hand rested on the pommel of his sword. “Are we ready?” he asked.

Dylan scratched the back of his neck and scanned the streets. “I don’t know. Where’s Danny?”

Jordon shrugged as he rummaged through his bag. “You heard him last night. I don’t think he’s coming.”

“Well, the rest of us are ready,” Jorel said. He stood up. “Let’s go.”

Dylan put a hand on Jorel’s shoulder to stop him. “Hang on. Look.”

Dylan pointed. Jorel followed his gaze down the street. Lion was jogging towards them, her metallic feathers gleaming in the sun. Danny walked next to her with a bag over his shoulder. He gripped the strap of the bag tightly in both hands. The two of them stopped when they reached the fire pit.

Danny looked up at the Guardian. “Are we leaving?”

Dylan walked up to Danny and slung an arm around his shoulders. “We are now,” he said with a grin.

“Two of you can ride with me,” George offered.

Tiger hoped onto Jorel’s shoulder as he made a beeline for the Guardian. “I’m coming with you.” He jabbed his thumb in Jordon and Dylan’s direction. “I don’t want to ride with those lunatics again.”

“Hey!” Jordon shouted. “We’re not lunatics!”

Dylan scratched his chin. “No, we are.”

Danny glanced back and forth between Viral and the Guardian. He looked at Lion and she shrugged. Danny shouldered his bag and walked to the Guardian.

Jordon, Dylan, and Grenade climbed onto Viral’s back. George bent down and helped Jorel onto the Guardian, and Tiger jumped off his shoulders and immediately ran to the Guardian’s head. Danny hopped onto Lion’s back. She leaped up onto the dragon as Jorel struggled to grab a hold of Tiger.

Once Jorel had Tiger safely in his grasp and was seated far away from George on the dragon’s back, George took the reins in his hand and gently tugged on them. The Guardian took to the air, and Viral followed closely behind.

* * *

Jorel hesitantly looked over the side of the Guardian at the ground below. “We’re very high up,” he whispered.

Danny shrugged as he dug through his bag. He looked completely comfortable being this high in the sky. “We’re not gonna fall.”

“We might,” Jorel mumbled. Tiger curled around his shoulders and nudged him with her nose in an attempt to comfort him. Maybe he should have gone with the other two. Viral didn’t fly this high while they were making their way to Danny’s village.

George must have heard him, because he twisted around in his seat to look at them. “We can go lower if you want.”

Jorel shook his head. “No, I’m fine.”

Lion yawned and stretched out across the Guardian’s back. Danny leaned against her as he fished a book from his bag. To distract himself from the height, Jorel leaned down to look at the cover of Danny’s book. “What are you reading?”

Danny glanced up. “It’s about the history of Angeles. I never learned much about that, so I went through some of the houses to see if there were any books I haven’t found yet. Jordon was right about this big human colonization thing, but he really watered down the legend of the Guardian. According to this, George and his dragon killed a lot of people,” he added quietly. “Like, _thousands_.” He furrowed his brow. “That being said, the legend was wrong about other people turning them into statues, so it could be wrong about that too. I’m just a little too scared to ask.”

Jorel nodded. “Yeah. I’m okay with not knowing.”

“We’re here,” George shouted.

Jorel and Danny peeked over the side of the dragon. They broke through the clouds and an island came into view. It wasn’t as big as Sunset, but it was big enough that Jorel couldn’t see the end of it from this height. Lush green forest lined the shoreline and dissipated into open fields dappled with trees further in.

“Damn,” Danny whispered. “It’s pretty.”

Jorel’s stomach dropped as they descended. He knew he was fine, but seeing the land zooming by was more than a little nerve-wracking.

They finally slowed, and the Guardian touched down in the middle of a huge pond surrounded by ruins. Butterflies fluttered through the air. One landed on Tiger’s nose and she stared cross-eyed at it. She snapped at it, but it fluttered out of her reach.

Viral clumsily splashed through the water as he landed. He walked up to the Guardian with his chest puffed out proudly.

Jordon patted Viral’s neck. “Yeah, impressive flying, big guy.” He looked up at George. “So where is this mysterious door that we’re supposed to open?”

George pointed to the ruins in front of them. “There’s this small ledge of land in there. The door’s built into the side of it. It’s easy to miss, so we’ll have to go in on foot. Besides, I think only humans are allowed through.”

“Well that’s not fair,” Dylan muttered.

George shrugged. “That’s how it is.” He let go of the reins and jumped off the Guardian.

The other four hopped off their rides and splashed in the water. “We couldn’t have landed somewhere less wet?” Jorel complained as water seeped into his boots. Tiger hopped off his shoulders and settled on Lion’s back.

George shrugged. “Sorry.” He started towards the ruins, but the Guardian leaned forward and nudged him in the back. He fell face-first into the water. Dylan snorted as George sat up, his clothes dripping wet.

George sighed and stood up. “Monarch, you can’t come with us.” The Guardian grumbled and George rolled his eyes. “Because you’ll ruin the ruins even more! You can’t fit through a door, either.”

The Guardian huffed, its breath sending ripples through the water. It leaned back and sat in the middle of the pond. George turned, and the five of them continued towards the ruins.

“Its name is Monarch?” Jordon asked.

George nodded, wringing out the sleeves of his shirt. “What, did you think he was just ‘the Guardian’?”

Jordon shrugged. “Kind of, yeah.”

They left the pond and trudged through the grass towards the ruins. Jordon spotted a patch of rosemary and quickly scooped some up. He’d been looking for some back on Sunset, but he couldn’t find any in Dylan’s forest. He’d dry them later when he had time.

He straightened and shoved the handful of herbs into his bag, but he stopped short when he saw George. “Hey, George?”

George stopped and turned around. Tons of butterflies had gathered on the back of his cloak and on his shoulders. He lowered his hood and a swarm of butterflies fluttered out of the fabric. “What?”

The other four stared at him. Jordon shook his head. “Never mind.” He glanced at Dylan in confusion as he caught up to the group. Dylan just shrugged in response.

George led them into the mess of ruins. They hopped over chunks of rock and walked through archways that seemed like they could collapse at any minute. Jorel and Dylan ran up a short, broken staircase that led to nowhere and jumped across onto a wall. They walked along the wall with their arms out to keep their balance.

“Where is this door?” Danny asked, struggling to get over a tall stone fence.

George braced a foot against the fence and easily hopped over. “Just up ahead.” He turned around and helped Danny over the fence.

“I think I see it,” Jorel called from on top of the wall. He ran to the edge and jumped off. He ran behind a crumbling stone wall. “Is this it?”

George walked around the wall and stared ahead at what Jorel had found. He stood in front of a ledge of dirt that towered over the majority of the columns and archways on the ground. A flat slab of stone was set vertically into the ledge, a thin, straight crack going right down the middle.

George nodded. “Yeah, that’s it. I don’t know how to open it, though.”

Dylan gazed at the door from his place on the wall. “Cool.” He looked down at the guys with a grin. “Hey Jordon, catch me!”

“Wait, what?”

Dylan jumped off the wall and Jordon instinctively held out his arms to catch him. He stumbled a little under Dylan’s weight, but he managed to stay upright.

Dylan patted Jordon on the shoulder. “Fun trust exercise.” He hopped out of Jordon’s arms and walked up to the door. “So how do we open this?”

Danny stared at the door. “George, how did you try to open it the first time?”

George shrugged. “I just pushed on it.”

“Maybe it’s a pull door,” Jorel suggested.

“I’m not seeing anything to pull on,” Jordon pointed out.

Danny leaned forward and examined the crack in the rock. He reached out to touch it. “Maybe we just-” He yelped and jumped backwards when a flash of yellow light erupted from the stone as he made contact with the door.

“What the _fuck_ was that?” Danny shouted.

George stepped forward. Small fingerprints remained on the door where Danny’s fingers had grazed the stone, glowing with a soft yellow light. The fingerprints slowly faded away until they disappeared.

“It didn’t do that when I tried to open it,” he said.

The others watched in awe as Danny slowly reached out and touched the door again. It glowed yellow under his hand as he pressed his palm to the crack in the stone.

“Does it do that for all of us?” Dylan muttered. He walked up to the door and set his hand next to Danny’s. The rock glowed green under his skin.

“Cool,” Jordon whispered. He ran up and slapped his hand on the other side of Danny’s. A soft orange light seeped out from under his palm.

George hesitated, but he walked up next to Dylan and put his hand on the rock. It glowed blue.

Jorel sighed. “This is fuckin’ crazy,” he mumbled. He stood next to Jordon and set his hand against the door, where it glowed with a dim red light.

The rock began to rumble beneath their fingers and they all backed away. Stone dust rained down from the rock as the doors slowly grated open. They finally stopped, and the five of them peered through the open doorway.

Beyond the doors was a wide, stone staircase leading down into a dark tunnel. It smelled musty, as if it hadn’t been opened in centuries.

Jorel hesitantly put one foot on the first step. “We should have brought torches.”

Dylan stepped into the tunnel and stared at the ceiling, his brow furrowed. “I don’t think we need them.” He reached up and touched his hand to the stone ceiling. A glowing green handprint was left in its wake. He entered the tunnel and let his hand run along the ceiling as he walked, illuminating the tunnel in green light.

Danny jumped up, but his fingertips just brushed the rock. He landed on the second step. His fingers left three bright yellow stripes on the ceiling. He lazily trailed his fingers along the wall as he followed Dylan down the steps, leaving behind glowing yellow lines.

Jorel stepped into the tunnel. He went down a few steps with his hands in his pockets, but soon enough was drawing red loops and circles in the wall with one hand.

Jordon skipped down a few steps, dragging his hand along the wall. Clumsy orange handprints appeared in the rock as he ran to catch up with Dylan.

George hesitantly stepped onto to the stairs. The butterflies on his cloak flew away in a swarm as he disappeared into the tunnel. He started after the others with his left hand on the hilt of his sword. He raised his other hand as he walked, letting his knuckles glide along the ceiling next to Dylan’s green lines.

He glanced behind him and saw a rainbow of colours covering the tunnel. Dylan mostly stuck to the ceiling, but there were a few green stripes on the wall following Jordon’s erratic patterns. Jorel had weaved some doodles into some of Danny’s lazy squiggles before switching to the opposite wall and leaving red streaks among Jordon’s handprints. George reached up and drew a blue line intertwining with two straight green lines Dylan had drawn with his fingers.

Danny caught up to Dylan and tapped at the wall as he walked alongside him. He watched as Jordon ran ahead, jumping at the ceiling and leaving orange handprints on every surface. Jorel jogged after him, tracing Jordon’s patterns with thin, red lines.

“So how’s it going?” Dylan asked.

Danny shrugged. “I mean, I’m on an unfamiliar island with a bunch of strangers, going into a dark tunnel without my dragon, and for some reason I can draw on rocks with my hands.” He swept his arm upwards and drew an arch in the rock before coming back down. “It’s pretty fucking crazy, not gonna lie.”

Dylan studied Danny’s face. His lips were tugged into a small frown and his brow was furrowed as if he was thinking hard about something. “You just look really troubled,” Dylan observed.

Danny waved his free hand dismissively. “It’s nothing. It’s kinda stupid, actually.”

“Everything about this situation is kinda stupid,” Dylan said. “Talk to me, homie.”

Danny sighed. “I don’t know. Just... the night before last night, I had a really weird dream. Or, at least I think I did. I can’t actually remember what it was about. I’m pretty sure it was bad, though. I just wish I remembered it.”

Dylan blinked. “Wait... this was two nights ago?”

Danny made a fist and dragged it along the wall. “Yeah. I even read a book about dreams hoping that it would jog my memory.”

“Hmm,” Dylan grunted. “I had a bad dream then too. I don’t remember mine either.” He shrugged. “Funny coincidence, I guess.”

“Hang on,” said a voice. Both of them turned around to see George walking towards them, his knuckles leaving small blue lines next to Dylan’s green stripes.

“You guys had nightmares a couple days ago?” George asked. He caught up to them and they all continued walking.

“Yeah,” Dylan said. “Why?”

George gazed at the ground and his hand travelled to the wall at his side. “I think I did, too. I don’t remember it, though. My dreams were all mixed up while we were hibernating. Most of them felt real and I remembered them, but this one was different. I thought it was because I’d been unconscious for long, but...” He put his hood back up, and a stray butterfly flapped out of the cloth. “Now I’m not so sure.”

He looked up to see Jorel standing on the steps in front of him, a confused look pressed on his face. “What are we talking about?” he asked as he fell into step next to George.

George took his hand off the wall to let him have some room. “We all had nightmares a couple nights ago. None of us remember them, though.”

Jorel’s hand slipped off the wall and he shoved it in his pocket. “Tiger said I was flailing in my sleep the night before yesterday... I think I had a bad dream, but I don’t know what it was about.”

“You too, huh?” Danny muttered. “I wonder if it happened to Jordon, too.”

“If what happened to me?” Jordon’s voice asked. He stood on the stairs, waiting for the other four. Orange handprints were smacked all over the tunnel.

“We all had nightmares two nights ago that we don’t remember,” Dylan said. “Did you?”

Jordon started down the steps again and traced the wall with his finger. “Now that I think about it... yeah, I did. It didn’t seem like a huge deal, so I didn’t really think about it.”

“But what does it mean?” Jorel asked.

“Don’t know,” Jordon whispered.

The ceiling disappeared from under George’s hand and he let it fall to his side. The five of them emerged in a large, open room. George glanced back up the stairs at the glowing graffiti on the walls. The light of the sun was now just a distant dot at the top of the tunnel. Danny followed one of the walls with his finger, illuminating the area around him.

Dylan knelt to the ground and slapped both hands on the floor. He dragged his hands down, leaving streaks on the handprints he made. “Nice,” he muttered. “Blank canvas.”

Jordon sat down next to him and started drawing something on the floor. Dylan glanced at it and snorted. “Dude, you can’t draw a dick on the floor of some mystical cave!”

“Well, now it’s a testicle cave!” Jordon shot back. He returned to doodling on the ground. Dylan giggled as he watched Jordon draw obscene things in the stone.

Jorel walked up to wall opposite Danny. He raised his hand and wrote “fuck” in all capital letters. He felt eyes on the back of his head and turned around. George was watching him with his arms crossed.

Jorel shrugged. “What?”

George sighed. “We’re not here to draw.”

“Come on, man, let loose a little,” Dylan said, tracing the shape of a leaf into the rock. “Come draw with us.”

George glanced over at Danny, who had stopped following the wall and was now lying on his stomach, doodling bright yellow shapes on the ground, while Jorel proceeded to write cuss words on the wall. George rolled his eyes, but he sat on the ground. He leaned forward and wrote the number three in front of him. He drew a backwards three across from it and drew a long oval to connect them vertically, turning it into a butterfly. He drew two antennae on the butterfly’s head. He was careful not to touch the floor inside the butterfly’s wings.

Danny walked up to him and crouched down in front of the butterfly. “Cute.”

Jordon and Dylan approached them. “Can we colour it?” Jordon asked.

Jorel snorted as he joined the group. “You are literal children.”

“Go ahead,” George said. “Whatever.”

Jordon immediately began colouring the wings orange. Danny stuck his tongue out in concentration as he coloured the butterfly’s body yellow, making sure to stay in the blue lines. Dylan made green stripes on the wings. Jorel sighed, but he knelt down and drew a red smiley face on the butterfly’s body.

Jordon stood up and stared down at the finished drawing. “Not gonna lie- that looks like it was made by a five year old.”

Dylan shrugged. “I dunno, man. It looks kinda pretty in here, with all the glowy stuff.”

George stood up. His left hand automatically drifted to his side to rest on his sword. Their drawing might have been a little unnecessary, but it managed to light up most of the room. The room was large and circular, made of the same damp stone as the tunnel. Directly across from the staircase they came from was the vague shape of a set of doors.

He walked up to it. The other four followed after him. Danny bent down and drew a big yellow circle on the ground around him, lighting up the area enough that they could see the door. The doors weren’t made of rock like the rest of the room. Instead, they were constructed from what George assumed was silver. They gleamed in the dim lights as if they had recently been polished. Intricate designs had been carved into the metal.

“Do we have to make this one glow, too?” Jorel asked. He touched one of the doors, but nothing happened.

George stepped forward and put a hand on each door. He pushed and they swung open. Darkness blanketed the room beyond the doors. He hesitated, but he stepped through the doorway.

Glowing blue lines snaked across the rock as soon as his foot touched the ground. They swirled around, drawing shapes in the stone as they crawled up the walls and spread across the ceiling.

“Damn,” Dylan muttered. He walked in and green lines joined the blue ones, lighting up the room a bit more.

The other three stepped in at the same time. Red, orange, and yellow lines appeared in the rock. They twined around the blue and green swirls. Colours illuminated the room as they danced across the walls.

Each colour darted over to the far wall, which had remained blank until now. The colours shot up the wall in five separate lines and cut off when they hit the ceiling. The whole room was lit up, revealing five armor stands at the far wall.

They all walked in further and made their way towards the stands in front of their stripes on the wall. A gilded iron chest sat behind each stand. On each stand was a long cloak with a hood.

Jorel approached his stand and lowered his hood. The cloak on the stand was white, but the end of the cape glowed a soft red and smoked as if it was burning. The clasp of the hood was a green triangular pin with an eye in the centre.

He walked around to the back to examine the rest. The shoulders of the cloak were coated in a red substance that dripped down the back. The liquid disappeared as soon as it rolled off the fabric. His gaze traveled back down the cape and settled on a large red dollar sign in the middle.

Jorel hesitantly reached out and touched the red liquid. His hand came away clean, so he turned his attention to the burning fabric at the bottom. It didn’t hurt when he touched it, so he concluded that it was safe to wear. He unclasped his current cloak and took the new one off the stand.

Jordon leaned forward and examined the cloak on the stand in front of him. The charcoal grey fabric was almost scratchy to the touch, but it was also oddly warm. The clasp was a small shard of black glass.

He took the cloak off the stand and turned it so he could see the back. A white silhouette of a city was sewn into the fabric at the bottom. Lighter grey fabric rose like smoke from the city, and it took him a second to notice that it was moving. It rippled across the fabric, leading up to the letters C and S written in white calligraphy in the middle of the cape.

“Cool.” He took the cloak and put it on without a second thought.

Danny walked up to the stand right in the middle of the others. His cloak didn’t even seem to be made of fabric. It gleamed in the light as if it had been carved from gold.

But when he lifted the edge, it moved like cloth. The shoulders were covered in golden chainmail, and a flattened bullet casing made up the clasp. In the middle of the back was a large black cross that looked like it had been messily painted on.

Danny lifted it off the stand. It was much lighter than he thought it would be. He placed it on his shoulders and fiddled with the clasp.

Dylan walked up to his cloak and lifted the end of it. It looked to be made of plain black fabric, but the edges of the hood and cape were lined with dull silver. The clasp was a simple button made of silver with three black dots painted in a triangle on the front.

He moved to the back and held the end as he looked it over. Tightly woven black mesh had been sewn into the shoulders and on the hood. The letters F and M were printed in yellow in the middle of the cape, the F above the M. The silver lining was dull enough that he figured the cloak would have blended into the shadows if they had left the room dark.

He immediately unclasped his cloak and took the new one off the stand. The fabric was cold to the touch, but he put it around his shoulders.

George furrowed his brow as he examined the cape on the stand in front of him. It looked like it was made of crumbling blue rock, with cracks riddling the fabric. Blue dust rained from the stand as he lifted up the edge. He looked closer and saw that tiny butterflies had been carved into the fabric, as if it really was made of stone. The clasp was a simple pin of a monarch butterfly. A large orange butterfly dominated the majority of the cape on the back, and the orange fabric rippled as if it was made of lava. Two large silver threes, one of them backwards, sat on either side of the butterfly.

George ran his hand over the fabric. It didn’t feel like stone, but he could feel the small cracks and the butterfly carvings. “How the fuck does that work?” he muttered.

He took off his current cloak and let it pool on the floor. A couple stray butterflies escaped from the fabric and settled on his head. He picked up the new cloak and swung it around his shoulders. He turned around to face the others, who were all pinning their own cloaks into place.

“I didn’t know we got uniforms with this whole hero business,” Danny commented. He put his hood over his head. “They’re cool.”

Jorel glanced at Jordon’s cape. “What does C.S. stand for?”

Jordon glanced past Danny to grin at Dylan. “Charlie Scene,” they said at the same time.

“Charlie Scene?” George repeated. “What does that mean?”

Jordon shrugged. “Old nickname.”

“Then what’s F.M.?” Danny asked.

“Funny Man,” Dylan answered. He swept his hair to one side and put up his hood. He turned to look at George. “How do I look?”

George snorted. “Absolutely stunning.”

Jorel crouched next to the iron chest behind his stand. The chest was long and narrow. “What’s in these?”

George put up his hood. “Dunno. Why don’t you find out?”

Jorel opened the chest. “Huh.” He reached in and pulled out a long spear with a razor sharp silver tip. The shaft seemed to be made of iron, but he couldn’t quite tell. He hefted it in his hands, testing its weight. “If I knew we were getting weapons, I would have expected a war hammer.”

“Are you complaining?” Jordon asked, kneeling next to his own chest.

Jorel shook his head and swung the spear around him. “Nah. This is sick.” He twirled it in one hand and slammed the pommel on the ground with a smile.

Jordon flipped open the lid of his much smaller chest and gasped. “Nice!” He reached in and grabbed two loaded revolvers. He held one in each hand as he looked back in the chest. “Does this come with ammo?”

Danny opened the chest behind his stand. He picked up the golden crossbow inside and examined it. “I’ve never fired one of these,” he said. He pulled back the string and it clicked into place. “I don’t-” He yelped and almost dropped the weapon when an arrow suddenly shot from the end of it. The arrow whizzed past George’s face and clattered against the stone wall. He looked at the part where the arrows were supposed to be inserted and blinked. “Uh, is it still supposed to be loaded after you fire?”

Jordon stared at his guns. “Do these reload themselves?”

“Don’t fire in here to test it,” Dylan said. “Do that outside.” He opened his own chest and peered inside. “You know, I was expecting a battleaxe for some reason, but...” He pulled out two sharp black daggers, each one attached to a chain. “I think this is cooler.”

George lifted the lid of his own chest. It was a bit long, so he didn’t expect to see a shield sitting at the bottom of it. It was blue, the edges lined with silver. Butterflies were carved into the silver edges. He lifted it out and strapped it to his left arm. “Not much of a weapon,” he mumbled.

“You’ve already got a sword,” Dylan pointed out.

George nodded. “Yeah, but...”

Then he stopped and looked down at his sword. He unsheathed it and placed it in the chest. The chest was the perfect length to hold the blade. He lifted it back out and stared at it in awe. “Is this where you came from?”

Dylan turned his blades in his hands. “I like the knives, but I don’t know what the chains are-” He shrieked in surprise and dropped the weapons as the chains started moving. They snaked into the sleeves of his shirt, whipping the knives back into his hands.

“The fuck did you do?” Jordon asked.

Dylan stared at the knives. “I don’t know.” He furrowed his brow. “Hang on.” He stepped away from the others and let the knives fall from his grip. He closed his hands on the chains and began swinging the knives in circles. They picked up speed and were soon reduced to two black blurs in his hands. He grinned. “That’s fucking cool.”

Jordon pulled a belt with two holsters out of his chest and tied it around his waist. “Is this all that’s in here? Just a bunch of cool capes and weapons? How are we supposed to figure out how to be heroes with just this?”

George sheathed his sword and straightened. “I don’t know.”

He glanced next to him and saw a faint silhouette of another armor stand with a cape. That area of the room had stayed dark. He leaned past the others to look at the dark corner next to Jorel. He could just make out the vague shape of another stand with a cloak. Those must have been for the two heroes who had left Sunset. He was mildly disappointed that it was only the five of them left, but he tried to stay optimistic. Maybe they’d be fine with only five heroes.

“What do we do now?” Dylan asked, twirling a dagger in one hand.

Jorel tapped his spear against the ground. “I think-”

“Hang on!” Danny interrupted. “Everyone be quiet!”

George and Jordon exchanged a confused glance, but they all stayed silent.

“Why do we have to be quiet?” Dylan whispered.

Danny held up a hand. “Shh,” he said. “Listen. I thought I heard something.”

They fell silent and listened. After a moment, they began to hear something. It was a deep rumbling that almost seemed to shake the earth beneath them. It was barely audible, but George recognized it immediately.

He looked at the others. “That’s Monarch.”

“What is he doing?” Dylan asked.

George turned to the open doorway. “He sounds like he’s-”

He stopped when the unmistakable roar of a dragon traveled down the stairs and echoed off the walls. The five of them exchanged a concerned glance.

“Something’s wrong,” George muttered.

Jorel gripped his spear in both hands. “Let’s go.”

They all turned and sprinted out the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> did i really spend 746 words describing fancy capes? yes, yes i did. i regret nothing  
> Unfortunately, there likely won't be an update on Tuesday because I am coming back from summer camp then. I do have a map of Angeles drawn (because what else am i going to do with my life) so I'm going to post a picture on tumblr and link it in the next chapter because it's going to become Relevant soon


	8. The Heroes' Quest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Early update because I've been late for updates due to camping and family trips.  
> Anyway, it's not really necessary, but I made a map of Angeles because I was bored and posted it. Here's a link in case you want to see it.
> 
> [here's the map](https://tiredauthor.tumblr.com/post/187033838454/the-realm-of-angeles)

The five of them vaulted up the last few steps and burst out of the tunnel, weapons at the ready. They ran out into the ruins and were about to run back towards the pond, but a small white dragon shot out from behind a stone wall and leaped into Jorel’s arms.

“Tiger, what’s going on?” Jorel asked as Tiger wriggled into his cloak.

She whined in response. “She says something’s attacking,” Danny translated. “She doesn’t seem to know what it is.”

A deafening roar exploded through the air. George sprinted towards it, ignoring the panicked warnings from the others. He jumped over stone fences and ran under crumbling archways. The others were hot on his heels.

He dashed through one last archway and drew his sword. The others stopped next to him and stared at the scene in front of them.

Monarch stood in the middle of the pond. He’d planted his feet in a defensive stance, his wings raised and teeth bared. A huge swarm of dragons zipped around him, scratching at his hide and biting at his wings. He opened his mouth and roared, a thunderous sound that made Danny want to cover his ears. The dragons zoomed away from Monarch, shaking their heads and pawing at their ears, but they recovered quickly and flew right back to him with their claws reaching out. Viral flew around Monarch. He nipped at the dragons to grab their attention, but he wasn’t doing too well. A large red gash spanned his wings, and he kept touching down to rest.

Danny clutched his new crossbow and ran forward. “Lion?” he called. “Lion! Where are you?”

He heard a distressed screech and dashed towards it. Lion galloped out of the swarm, three larger dragons hot on her tail. Danny raised his crossbow and pulled the string back. Three arrows thudded into the wings of the dragons, one after the other. The dragons fell to the ground and tumbled over one another.

Danny lowered the weapon as Lion came to a stop in front of him. He felt horrible shooting the dragons, but he didn’t want them to hurt Lion.

A quiet roar made its way through the chaos. Lion turned around. She cried out in response and glanced back at Danny. He was about to reply when something clipped his shoulder. He looked up and saw Dylan running into the swarm, both daggers in his hands.

“Dylan!” Jordon yelled.

Dylan turned back for a second, eyes wide with panic. “That was Grenade!” He whirled around and kept running.

“Shit,” Jordon mumbled. He drew his guns and sprinted after Dylan.

Danny hopped onto Lion’s back. “Let’s go help Viral.”

Lion grunted and nodded. She ducked into the swarm and made a beeline for Viral.

George clenched his sword and gazed up at the dragons. “I don’t want to hurt them.”

“We might have to,” Jorel said.

George sighed. “I hate that.” He and Jorel ran into the swarm together.

Jorel ducked under the wing of a stray dragon as they ran. “Why are they doing this?”

“I don’t know!” George shouted. A dragon dived towards him, and he slammed it in the face with his shield.

They slowly made their way towards Monarch. Jorel had to take a few down with his spear, but it felt like he was stabbing himself in the heart every time he jabbed at a dragon’s wing. He’d spent so many years trying to protect dragons, and here he was, hurting them. How had things come to this?

George, however, refused to swing his sword. He deflected their claws and hit them away with his shield, but his blade remained unused in his hand. He wouldn’t risk killing any of them.

They stopped in their tracks when a black and green dragon touched down in front of them. Jorel reluctantly raised his spear and George hefted his shield, but then they noticed the person on the dragon’s back.

They stood on the dragon, one boot resting on the back of its neck. A set of reins dangled from one hand. The reins led down to a bit in the dragon’s mouth. The person was dressed in a simple tunic and pants, and a long brown coat waved in the wind over it all. A strip of fabric had been tied around their lower face. A pair of goggles similar to Jordon’s covered their eyes.

The thing that disturbed George the most about this person was the fact that they had knotted another strip of fabric around the dragon’s head to cover its eyes. The dragon’s ears twitched and it turned its head as if it was looking for something.

George and Jorel stared at the person. “Who the fuck are you?” George asked, raising his sword. “What are you doing here?”

The person tilted their head as if considering his words. They looked up at Monarch, then back at George. “Why don’t you control it?” they asked. They had to shout over the din of the screeching dragons. Their voice was deep enough to be a man’s.

George blanched. “What? Because I don’t want to. Why?”

The person glanced back at Monarch before turning back to George. “You could destroy every dragon in the world with a creature like that. You could expand human civilization across all of Angeles. Why do you choose to help the monsters who terrorize humans instead of your own kind?”

Jorel ducked as a dragon swooped over his head. “Look buddy, I don’t know what kind of drugs you’re on, but it must be some crazy shit if you think _dragons_ are the monsters here!”

The dragon rider ignored Jorel and kept his gaze on George. “We should be using dragons to get _rid_ of dragons. You could help me. We can bring humankind up in the world.”

George scowled. “I don’t think I’m buying what you’re selling, buddy. Now shut the fuck up and _get out of my home!_ ”

The rider stared at George. He shook his head. “If that’s what you want.”

He pulled harshly on the reins. The dragon beneath him yelped, but it turned its head where the rider wanted. He dug his back heel into the dragon’s back, and it took off into the air.

George ducked as a dragon soared over his head after the rider and his dragon. The two of them watched as every single dragon turned their attention away from Monarch and followed the dragon rider into the sky.

“We have to go after them,” George said.

He felt Jorel’s hand on his shoulder. “No, we can’t. Your dragon’s hurt.”

 _I can still fly!_ Monarch insisted. _Let’s chase them down!_

George gestured to Monarch. “He says he can fly!”

Jorel lowered his hood and gave George a disapproving glare. “ _No._ That guy had a swarm of dragons with him. What makes you think we can take him down when two of our dragons are already injured?”

Monarch and George each heaved a great sigh, but Monarch flopped down in the water and George sheathed his sword. “We should go after him before we lose him,” George muttered.

Viral collapsed in the pond next to Monarch, panting as blood flowed from the scratch on his back. Jordon stared after the mysterious person and their dragons with wide eyes. “Who was that?” he asked Dylan.

Dylan scooped some water in his hands and splashed it over a cut on Grenade’s side. “I don’t know,” he admitted, gently rubbing the blood out of his fur.

“Whoever it was, I hope he doesn’t come back,” Danny commented as he and Lion ran up to them. He had a small cut over his cheekbone, but other than that, they both looked fine.

Jordon ran over to Viral. “Hey buddy,” he said in a soft voice. “You okay?”

Viral rumbled deep in his throat. He tucked in his wings and rolled over in the water in an attempt to wash the blood off his back. He rested on his belly and lowered his head down to Jordon.

Jordon put his new guns back into their holsters. “I’m going to need a bigger mortar,” he mumbled, digging around in his bag.

Monarch grunted in pain and lay down in the water. _George_ , he said. _Do you know who that was?_

George shook his head. “No, I don’t. He was a dragon rider, though.” He glared up at the dragons as they disappeared into the clouds. “And not a good one, either.”

Danny shot him a confused look. “What?”

George waved his hand. “Talking to Monarch.”

Monarch narrowed his eyes. _That rider is the reason we’re awake. That’s the new threat._ He lowered his head to rest next to George. _We’re too old for this,_ he grumbled.

George snorted and patted Monarch on the nose. “No shit.”

Jordon crushed some herbs up in his mortar. “I’m guessing that’s the threat we have to fight?” he asked.

George nodded. A butterfly fluttered up to him and settled on his new cloak. “Yeah. We can’t go after him now, though.”

He started towards Monarch’s neck so he could sit on his dragon’s back, but he stopped when he stepped on something in the water. George lifted his foot and saw a wet piece of paper stuck to his boot. He peeled it off, being extra careful not to rip it.

“What’s that?” Jorel asked. He walked up to George and looked over his shoulder at the paper. Tiger scampered onto his shoulders to examine it.

George set the paper on the side of Monarch’s neck and flattened it out. On the paper was a drawing. Three shapes were scrawled on it, arranged with the largest shape underneath the other two. All together, they looked to be in the vague shape of two birds in a nest.

“It looks kind of like a map,” Jorel observed.

“Let me see,” Danny said. He jogged over to them. He looked over George’s other shoulder and his eyes widened. “Oh, that’s the Swan’s Nest!”

Jorel blinked. “The what now?”

“I’ve read about it!” Danny said. “It’s another area in Angeles.” He reached into his bag and pulled out a small book. “There are a bunch of different islands all over the realm. The Swan’s Nest is way in the northeast corner.” He flipped open the book, turned it vertically, and held it so the other two could see.

Both pages were taken up by a map. Near the northwest corner, close to a cluster of islands in the shape of a V, was an island vaguely shaped like a star. It was labeled “Sunset Island”. Two smaller shapes had been drawn south of Sunset. A small circle had been drawn on the larger of the two. George assumed that was the Guardian’s Keep.

George glanced back at the map he’d found and then searched for the shapes in Danny’s book. There they were, right in the northeast corner where Danny said they’d be. The biggest island had the words “Swan’s Nest” written on it.

Dylan and Jordon walked over to look at the book, Jordon still mixing stuff together in his mortar. “So that rider left behind a map?” Dylan asked.

Jordon leaned in to look at Danny’s map. “’Tragedy Isles’? ‘Land of the Dead’? Those don’t sound very fun.”

Danny shrugged. “Yeah, but ‘Underground’ and ‘Five Islands’ seem safe enough. I’ve read about all of them.”

“Wait.” George looked back at the map he’d found. “If that rider dropped this-”

“He might be headed to the Swan’s Nest,” Jorel finished.

Jordon bent down and scooped up some water. “We have to go after him.” He sprinkled some of the water into his bowl and mixed it into the powder in his mortar.

George sighed. “Jorel’s right. We can’t go now. Viral and Monarch need time to recover.” He gestured to Danny’s map. “And judging by how long it took to just get from Sunset to here, it’ll take longer to get to the Swan’s Nest. We should wait until tomorrow.”

Jordon peered into his mortar. “Yeah, that’s probably best. Besides, it’ll take a while for me to make enough of this to heal Monarch, Viral, _and_ Grenade.” He looked up at the cut on Danny’s cheek. “And you.”

Danny blinked. “Me? I thought that stuff didn’t work on humans.”

Jordon shrugged. “It won’t heal it immediately, but it’ll prevent infections and help soothe the pain.” He scooped up some of the mixture with his finger. “Come here.”

Danny put his book back in his bag and stepped closer to Jordon. Jordon gently dabbed some of the paste on Danny’s cut.

George took the map off Monarch’s side. “You guys can go start a fire and find some food. There’s some fish in the pond, and there are some fruit trees past the ruins.”

“Cool,” Dylan said. “Grenade and I can make the fire.” He and Grenade made their way to the edge of the pond. Grenade was limping a bit, but Dylan walked slowly so he could keep up.

“We’ll grab some fruit,” Jorel said.

Danny hefted his crossbow as Jordon finished putting the paste on his cheek. “I guess some practice with this couldn’t hurt.”

George gazed at the sky as Danny and Lion started looking through the water for fish. “Jordon?”

Jordon spread some paste onto the large cut spanning Viral’s wings. “Yeah?”

“We’re so gonna die.”

Jordon snorted. “You said it, not me.” He scooped up some paste and held it out to George. “Now go patch up your dragon.”

George swiped his hand against Jordon’s to pick up the paste. He hopped onto Monarch’s neck and spread the medicine against three deep claw marks in his hide. He tried to concentrate on his task, but he couldn’t shake the image of that rider standing on their blindfolded dragon out of his mind.

* * *

That night, the five of them sat around the green fire Grenade and Dylan had made. It had taken two hours to make enough medicine for all the dragons who needed it, and it took another three to apply all of it. Some of the scratches had more or less healed by then, so they only focused on the ones that would normally take days to heal.

Danny was already getting the hang of his crossbow, it seemed. He and Lion left the pond with a bunch of fish, each one with an arrow in its head.

Jorel and Tiger came back from the ruins just after George and Jordon had finished with the dragons’ wounds. He held a ton of apples and oranges in his cape. Tiger was already asleep on his shoulders when he sat down at the fire.

Jordon had decided to cook the fish Danny came back with. He’d cut it up, sprinkled it with a bunch of herbs, and skewered it with some sticks he’d sharpened. The others waited for the fish to be done as Jorel munched on apples.

Jordon took a skewer away from the fire and held it out to Dylan. “Bone app the teeth.”

“I think it’s ‘bon appetite’,” Jorel corrected.

“Whatever.”

Dylan took the skewer and took a big bite. “Mm. Best cook I know.”

Jordon rolled his eyes. “I’m literally the only person you know who can cook.”

Dylan just shrugged and took another bite of his food. Jordon took the skewers off the fire and passed them around. He held one out to Jorel, but Jorel shook his head.

“Sorry, I don’t usually eat meat,” he said.

“Alright.” He held the skewer out to Dylan. “Grenade likes fish, right?”

Dylan took the skewer and held it out to Grenade. Grenade latched onto it and gnawed at the meat, holding the stick between his two front paws.

George glanced over to where Monarch was grazing next to the pond. He seemed to have mostly healed up by now. Viral splashed through the pond, scooping up fish after fish in his mouth. Sometimes he’d kick water onto Monarch in an attempt to get him to play, but Monarch ignored him and kept grazing.

“We’ve got to figure out a game plan for tomorrow,” Danny said. He pulled his book out of his bag and flipped it open to the map. “We kind of know where this rider is going, but these are whole islands. We don’t know which one he’s going to, or where exactly he’ll be.”

Dylan peered over Danny’s shoulder to look at the map. “We should start at the biggest island,” he said, pointing at it with his free hand. “It’s closest to here, so that’s probably where he’ll go first.”

“Or maybe he wants to get further away from us in case we come after him.” Jorel leaned over and pointed to the smallest island. “We could go there first and make our way down.”

“Either way, there’s no land between here and there,” George pointed out. “We’re going to be flying for a long time, no breaks. We should figure out who’s flying with who.”

Dylan nudged Jorel with his elbow. “Maybe Jay should fly with Jordon this time.”

“Okay, first of all, don’t call me Jay,” Jorel said. “Second, why?”

Dylan gestured to Grenade. “Grenade’s a bit too heavy for Viral on long trips. Besides, we shouldn’t stick with the same people all the time. If we’re gonna be a team, we gotta get to know each other. Do some bonding. Y’know.”

Jorel tossed an apple core behind him and shrugged. “Alright. I guess I’ll go with Jordon then.”

Danny shut the book and put it away. “I don’t know if we’re ready for this,” he mumbled, leaning back against Lion.

“It’ll take time,” George assured him. “We only just started with this hero stuff. We won’t be able to take this asshole down right away. Right now, we just need to get ready to go after him and prepare for the next time we see him.”

Dylan nodded. “Yeah. We’ll get the hang of this. Don’t worry.”

Jordon stood up and stretched. “Well, we should get some sleep,” he suggested. “Tomorrow is going to be a long day!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You may have noticed that the rating and the archive warnings have both been changed. Problem is, I am currently writing chapter 14, and I may or may not have gone a tad overboard with the bloodiness in that chapter. Later chapters will get a bit more graphic with battle scenes, gruesome magical mishaps in different areas of Angeles, and mental/emotional breakdowns, so I will be updating the tags with warnings as the story progresses.


	9. Swan Songs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I designed a couple more dragons that are relevant for this section of the story, so here's a link in case you want to see them
> 
> [more dragons](https://falsehood-rising.tumblr.com/post/187145079824/more-dragons-for-my-fic)

The next morning, the five men gathered their things and boarded their dragons. Jordon had dried some fruit at the fire so he and Danny could stock up on food for the trip. They didn’t know how long they’d be flying, so they prepared for a long flight.

“You ready?” George asked as he grabbed the reins.

“Yep!” Dylan shouted. He sat himself between two spikes like George had. Grenade lied down next to him.

“Let’s go,” Danny said.

George turned to look at Jordon and Jorel on Viral’s back. “We’ll lead. Danny’s navigating.”

Jordon nodded. “Alright. Don’t get us lost.”

“I won’t!” Danny called.

George gently tugged on the reins and Monarch turned around so they were facing northeast. He lifted the reins and Monarch launched into the sky.

* * *

They flew on for hours. Viral had to slow down a few times to let Monarch catch up with him. Dylan munched on dried fruit and looked over Danny’s shoulder as he flipped through his book. Danny had taken a compass out of his bag and kept glancing at the map, then the compass, then at the open sky ahead of them, and then back to the map. They had both moved closer to George, Danny so he could direct their flight, Dylan so he could keep looking at Danny’s book. Grenade and Lion laid down in the middle of Monarch’s back, conversing in weird dragon noises that only Danny could understand.

Eventually, Dylan stood up and walked over to George. He looked over Monarch’s neck to stare at the clouds below them. “Damn. We’re pretty high up.”

“I can go lower,” George offered.

Dylan shrugged and sat down, letting his legs dangle off Monarch’s neck. “Nah, I’m fine.” He looked at George. “Are you always this quiet?”

George nodded. “Yeah. I don’t usually talk when we’re flying.” He twisted around. “I get the feeling you have some questions, though.”

“I’ve got a few,” Dylan admitted. “That guy was a dragon rider?”

George sighed. That was the last thing he wanted to think about. “Yeah. He is.”

Dylan furrowed his brow. “But the dragon he was on-”

“That dragon didn’t trust him,” George snapped.

Dylan blinked in surprise. He didn’t think George would get mad at him. He felt like he should be quiet, but his curiosity won out. “What do you mean?”

George took a deep breath. “Well, first of all, the way he was riding the dragon was completely wrong. A dragon like Monarch, you can stand on, because he’s big enough to hold it. You could probably stand on Viral too, if you didn’t put too much pressure on his neck. But a dragon of that size? You can’t _do_ that! He was pushing the dragon’s head down with his foot, and that can hurt a dragon’s neck. And the blindfold- god, you don’t do that unless the dragon fully trusts you, and even then, the dragon will just close its eyes instead if it wants to. The blindfold was totally unnecessary! The way that dragon was twitching was a clear sign that it didn’t trust its rider. If the dragon is blindfolded, it just has to trust that the person riding it is directing them properly. He was forcing it to trust him, and that’s _awful!_ ”

He took a deep breath, and Dylan stared at him with wide eyes. “You seem really hung up about this.”

“Sorry. Just... That’s not what dragon riding is supposed to be. It’s supposed to be a mutual bond based on trust and respect so you can work together. Not... whatever that was.”

Dylan was silent for a moment. “Can we beat the shit out of that guy when we find him?” he asked finally.

George snorted. “Dude, I was already planning on it. Don’t worry. He’ll get what’s coming to him.” He glanced back at Danny, who was hunched over his compass and his map. “Danny’s pretty quiet. What do you think he’s thinking about?”

“Dunno,” Dylan said. “He doesn’t really seem comfortable around us. Look at him.”

George studied Danny for a moment. His shoulders were tense. Every time he looked up at the sky, he purposely avoided looking at George and Dylan.

“I didn’t notice,” George mumbled. “He’s probably just not used to being around people.”

Dylan nodded. “Yeah. He’ll probably get some character development later, though.”

George blinked. “Character- what?”

Dylan waved his hand. “Whatever.” He turned to look at Danny. “Hey Danny! We still on course?”

Danny’s head whipped up to look at him. “Uh, yeah, I think so. Just go to the left a little.”

George tugged on the left rein and Monarch turned slightly. “We good?” George shouted.

“Yeah, that’s fine.” Danny studied his map. “How long have we been flying?”

Dylan looked down at Viral. “HEY JORDON!” he yelled at the top of his lungs. “DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG WE’VE BEEN FLYING?”

Jordon glanced at them and then turned to Jorel. They exchanged a few words, and Tiger popped out of Jorel’s cloak with something in her mouth. Jorel took the object from her and fiddled with it. He said something to Jordon, who cupped his hands around his mouth to shout at Dylan. “ABOUT SIX HOURS!”

Danny flipped through his book. “This says that it took three days to reach the Swan’s Nest from Sunset.”

“Yeah, but dragons are a lot faster than boats,” Dylan said. “They’re about eleven times faster than the average ship, so we’ll be there...” He fell silent as he did the math in his head. “Pretty damn soon, I think.”

Danny stared at him. “You can do math?”

Dylan ignored his question. “So, what’s the Swan’s Nest like? Does your book say anything about it?”

Danny flipped a page. “Yeah. It was the first place people went to during this whole human colonization thing from a thousand years ago. It was almost taken over by humans, but fortunately they were defeated. The place is full of forests and mountains, so a lot of forest and snow dragons live there. And-” His eyes widened and he brought the book closer to his face. “Shit, that’s a lot of names.”

Dylan scooted closer to Danny to look at the book. “What?”

“Humans started settling the place a long time ago, so there are a lot of places that are already named.” He held the book out to Dylan. “Look.”

Dylan let out a low whistle. “‘Desolate Soul Mountain’? That sounds depressing.”

“The Woods of Pain seems dangerous,” Danny added. “And I don’t even want to know what the Knife of Lust is.”

George listened to them talk. None of those places sounded particularly enticing, but they might have to visit them if that’s where the dragon rider was.

Their conversation faded from his mind when he began to feel a light buzzing in the back of his skull. “Monarch,” he said. “I feel something.”

Monarch grunted. _What is it?_

“I can sense something. Hang on.”

He focused on the feeling. It turned from a buzz into sort of a pull towards the other four, and he found himself leaning backwards towards Danny and Dylan. He could feel their energy in the back of his head like static electricity.

 _You’re probably just sensing the dumbasses we dragged along on this trip,_ Monarch said.

“No there’s something else. Something new.”

He took a deep breath and focused again. A new energy had wormed its way into his head. It pulled him forward in the direction they were flying.

 _Can the others feel it?_ Monarch asked.

“No,” George sighed. “Not yet, at least. I can only feel it because I’m the one who had to choose them to be heroes. They might be able to once we start working more as a team. Who knows.”

“I think we’re there!” Danny shouted.

The two of them looked up. They hadn’t even noticed that they had descended below the clouds. Sticking out of the water in front of them was a mass of land riddled with green trees and white mountain peaks.

“Where do we land?” Danny asked.

George scanned the land and spotted a relatively flat area in the middle of the forest. He was about to get Monarch to fly towards it, but something shot across his vision and he accidentally pulled on the reins.

Monarch stopped immediately and turned his head. _What’s wrong, George?_

George looked around the sky, trying to spot what had flown in front of him. He caught a glimpse of a dark shape just before it disappeared into the clouds.

Viral flew up to hover next to Monarch. “What was that?” Jordon shouted.

“I don’t know!” George yelled back.

“Maybe it was a dragon,” Jorel said.

“I think you’re right,” Dylan replied. He pointed to the sky. “Look.”

They all turned their gazes to the sky. The dark shape burst out of the clouds and headed straight towards them. As it got closer, Jorel could make out the faint shape of a flying dragon, its wings beating against the wind. Jorel had strapped his spear to his back, but he kept a hand on one of his throwing axes at his belt. He had no intention of actually drawing the weapon; it was just something he did when he was nervous.

The dragon stopped and hovered in the air in front of Monarch. It was about Lion’s size, but it was heftier with a rounder face. It was covered in long, dark blue fur. It looked back and forth between Monarch and Viral.

“She’s nervous because we’re human,” Danny said.

Tiger poked her head out of Jorel’s cloak and squawked at the dragon. The dragon squeaked and immediately rushed to Jorel. He stepped back in surprise as the dragon snuffled at his hair. He looked to Danny for an explanation, but Danny just shrugged.

“All I know is that Tiger said something about you,” he said. “I can’t actually hear what they’re saying. I just know basic expressions.”

“Wait,” George said. He looked down at Monarch, then turned to Jorel. “Monarch says that Tiger told her you’re a dragon handler.”

The dragon nudged Jorel with her nose, her breath blowing the hood off his head. She backed away from him and purred in her throat.

“Well, she’s definitely glad you’re here,” Danny commented.

Tiger made a few dragon noises and they all turned to George for a translation. Monarch growled in response. “Tiger says you can help with something,” George said. “I don’t know what they’re talking about, because Monarch stopped listening.”

Monarch huffed and rolled his eyes. The dragon squawked at Tiger and turned away. She flew towards the land in front of them.

“She wants us to follow her,” Danny said.

Jorel had no idea why this dragon thought he could help her, but he decided to go along with it. “Alright. Let’s go.”

George spurred Monarch forward, and Viral lurched after them. Jorel clutched one of the ridges on Viral’s back as they swooped down towards the land.

The dragon landed in the mess of trees. Viral took a tentative step onto the land and managed to squeeze into the forest. His head and neck stuck out of the leaves and he wriggled around, trying to follow the dragon through the trees.

Jordon hopped off his back. “You can stay here, buddy. We’ll come back.”

George guided Monarch down to land next to Viral. Tree branches cracked under his weight, but he settled on the grass and lowered his head. George, Dylan, and Danny slid off Monarch’s neck. Tiger leaped off Jorel’s shoulders and dashed after the dragon.

Jorel jumped off Viral and started after Tiger. “Tiger, wait!” He caught up with her and scooped her into his arms. “Chill out for a second!”

She squirmed in his arms, but she stopped and huffed in annoyance when she didn’t get anywhere. She held onto his arm with her front paws and let the rest of her swing lazily below her as Jorel carried her through the trees.

The fluffy blue dragon came into view and Jorel slowed to a stop. She sat at the base of a tree, staring at Jorel like she was expecting something. She looked down at something next to her and then back to Jorel.

Tiger scrambled out of Jorel’s arms. She ran towards the base of the tree and sniffed at the ground. She backed away and made some weird dragon noises at Jorel.

He heard footsteps behind him and turned around. The other four had followed him. Lion and Grenade tromped through the trees behind them.

“What does she need help with?” Danny asked.

Jorel shrugged. “I don’t know.”

Tiger squawked. She put her paws on something in the dirt and rolled it away from the tree. She pushed it through the grass with her nose and sat down, staring at Jorel with wide red eyes.

He knelt down and pushed the grass aside. “That’s a dragon egg,” he whispered.

“What?” Jordon ran forward and sat next to him.

Jorel carefully picked up the small, round egg in his palms. “It’s a dragon egg.”

Danny and George leaned over Jorel’s head to look at it. “Cool,” Danny muttered.

“Why is it here?” George asked.

Dylan crouched next to Jorel. “More importantly, why is it not in a nest?”

Jorel turned the egg over in his hands. “It’s been here for a while, I think. I’m guessing... two weeks, maybe? It’s gonna be a forest dragon, too.”

“How do you know that?” Danny asked in awe.

Jorel sat cross-legged on the ground and rested the egg in his lap. “Well, it’s a bit heavier than newly laid eggs, so it’s definitely been around for a couple weeks at the least. It’s also got plant matter clinging to it. Forest eggs excrete moisture that draws plants to them.”

Dylan grinned. “And you said you probably weren’t a dragon handler,” he said, nudging Jorel with his elbow.

Jorel rolled his eyes. “Yeah, you were right. Sue me.” He turned to the dragon who led them here. “Why can’t you make a nest for it?”

Dylan pointed to the dragon’s face. “Her eyes are white. She’s a snow dragon. She can take care of the baby when it hatches, but she can’t make a proper nest for a forest egg.”

Jorel gazed at the ground, deep in thought. He had an idea, but he wasn’t sure what Dylan would think about it.

He finally looked at Dylan. “Isn’t Grenade a forest dragon?”

Dylan’s eyes widened. His face split into a grin and he turned around to look at Grenade. “Grenade! How do you feel about being a mom?”

Grenade blinked. He looked behind him, as if to make sure there were no other dragons Dylan could have been talking to. He looked back at Dylan and tilted his head.

Dylan gestured to the egg. “Come on! It’s a baby dragon!”

Grenade glanced at Lion. She just snorted.

Grenade stepped forward and leaned over Jorel’s shoulder to sniff the egg. Cradling the egg in both hands, Jorel stood up and looked around. He needed a place to put the egg before they made the nest around it. His gaze stopped at the base of a tree. Two large roots had formed a small circular divot in the ground. He walked over, knelt down, and placed the egg in the divot.

Grenade bounded up beside him and looked down at the egg. He nudged Jorel with his nose in approval. Grenade then wandered over to another tree and stared up at the branches. He jumped straight up, grabbing a ton of leaves with his mouth. He tromped over to the nest again and spat them on top of the egg. He lowered himself to the ground, and Jorel had to move over to make room for him. Grenade opened his mouth and blew a stream of green mist over the egg.

The blue dragon trotted over to them. She purred and nuzzled Jorel’s head, knocking the hood off his head again. He pulled it back on as the dragon did the same to Grenade.

The dragon nestled next to the egg, and Jorel and Grenade rejoined the group. “We should probably go track down that dragon rider now,” Jorel said.

They all started to walk back towards where they left Monarch and Viral. “Yeah, I guess,” Dylan said. “Just... Don’t any of you find it weird that there was an egg without a nest? I’ve never known of any dragons who abandon their eggs without even making sure they’d be able to hatch.”

George nodded. “That is a bit weird.”

“Maybe they couldn’t handle being parents,” Danny suggested. “Or maybe they died.”

Dylan scratched the back of his neck. “I mean, I guess we could check on it to see what its eyes look like when it hatches.”

Jordon furrowed his brow. “What the fuck does that have to do with the egg being abandoned by its parents?”

“No matter what kind of dragon it is, its eyes will always be pink if its parents are both dead,” Dylan answered. “Relationships are really important to dragons, especially parental ones. If its birth parents die before it hatches, the lack of parental blood will affect it. Orphan dragons will always be born with pink eyes.”

Jorel and Tiger exchanged a glance. “Some of the dragons we’ve found outside our house have had pink eyes. Some of the eggs we find hatch with those, too.”

“Shit,” Danny breathed. “That’s kinda sad. Imagine living with that and knowing it means your parents are dead.”

George held up a hand. “Can you guys be quiet for a second? I think Monarch’s yelling at me.”

They fell silent. His lips pulled into a frown as he listened to whatever Monarch was saying.

“What is it?” Jordon asked.

“He says we have a problem,” George answered. He picked up his pace. “Come on!”

They broke into a run and followed George through the trees. They didn’t know what the problem was, but they hoped it wasn’t dangerous. None of them felt ready to face another swarm of malicious dragons again.

Monarch and Viral came into view and they skidded to a stop. Both dragons had lowered their heads to stare at something on the ground. They glanced up when they noticed the guys. A small gasp escaped Jorel’s lips when he saw what they were looking at.

Over a dozen dragon eggs sat in the grass. Three hatchlings were curled up among the eggs, each one with wide, pink eyes. Jorel watched as Viral moved his head behind a tree and gently pushed another egg into the pile.

George stared at the eggs. “That’s definitely a problem.”

* * *

_They’re not mine, I swear,_ Monarch said as a hatchling curled up in George’s lap.

“Well, I figured that much,” George said.

He watched Jorel and Grenade run through the trees, trying to find good places to make nests. The five of them had found a small clearing in the forest and carried the eggs into it. Jorel said that only about half of the eggs were forest dragons, so the rest of them were left in the grass while Jorel and Grenade made nests for the others.

Dylan carefully picked up a hatchling and it nuzzled into his arms. “We can’t stay here and take care of them,” he said. “We still have a job to do.”

The third hatchling purred as Jordon scratched it behind the ears. “Maybe that other dragon can take care of them?”

“Well, this does give us a chance to come up with a plan,” Danny pointed out, taking his book from his bag. “We’re going to have to look over this whole island before we move onto the other two.”

“We can’t split up to search,” George said. “If we find that dragon rider again, we won’t be able to fight him alone.”

“Where should we look first?” Jordon asked.

Danny scanned the pages. “There are a lot of different places here. I don’t even know where to start.”

“Just tell us every place written on the map and we’ll decide from there,” George said.

Danny raised an eyebrow. “You want me to list off all twenty-one named areas in the entire Swan’s Nest?”

Dylan shrugged. “Why not?”

“Alright.” Danny leaned back against Lion. “How do you guys feel about visiting the Undead Chasm?”

Jordon grimaced. “Sounds dangerous.”

“Well, we could go to the Graveyard of Thrown Away Souls instead.” Danny flipped a page. “Ooh, or the Fields of Everywhere. It’s said that you can see anywhere in the world from there.”

George perked up. “If you can see anywhere from there-”

“We might be able see where that dragon rider went,” Jordon finished.

“Sounds good,” Dylan said. “Anywhere else we should go?”

“The Smoked Outback seems dangerous, but the Fifth Song is close to it and is safer,” Danny said. “It’s a cliff on the smallest island overlooking the sea.”

Jorel walked by them, carrying an egg in his arms. “I’m not going to a cliff,” he said. “I don’t like heights.”

“Okay,” Danny muttered, turning the page. “The Forest of the Young is near there, so we could check that out instead.” Worry flashed across his face. “The Black Dahlia Fields... We can’t go there. It says that everyone who goes in there doesn’t come out. I think that rules out the Love Pond and the Hate Lake, too, because those are right next to the fields.”

Jordon leaned over to look at the book. “The Lonely Sunset Streets sound interesting.”

Danny flipped back to the map for a moment. “That’s right next to the Horse Highlands. The Burned Out City is on the second smallest island, but I don’t know if this dragon rider would want to hide out in burned up town.”

“You did that for twenty years,” Dylan pointed out.

Danny shot him a glare. “Okay, good point.” He turned back to the book. “What about Desolate Soul Mountain?”

“No mountains!” Jorel called from where he and Grenade were making a nest at the base of a tree.

Jordon pointed to something in the book. “What are the Six Hell Raisers?”

“Six huge icicles at the base of a mountain,” Danny answered. “No one knows how they were formed, but they sound interesting.”

Dylan crouched down next to Danny, the hatchling still in his arms. “Let’s go to the Lost Paradise. That sounds cool.”

“As long as we don’t go to the Woods of Pain,” Danny replied. “There’s also Revolution Peak, but-”

“No mountains!” Jorel repeated as he followed Grenade with another egg.

Danny nodded. “Right, no mountains.” He looked down at the book. “I don’t think we should go to the Knife of Lust, and the Grove of Loss... this says it’s even more dangerous than the Black Dahlia Fields. We’re not risking going there.”

“Let’s go to the Seventeen Crystals,” Jordon said.

“Okay,” Danny mumbled. “Then there’s the Killer Alley and Angel’s Circle.”

“Angel’s Circle,” George said. “Killer Alley sounds like a place you’d go to get murdered.”

Danny took a deep breath. “Okay, so we’re going to the Plains of Everywhere to see if we can figure out where the dragon rider went. If we can’t, we’ll go to the Forest of the Young, the Lost Paradise, and Angel’s Circle. If we can’t find the rider there, we’ll go to the Lonely Sunset Streets and the Six Hell Raisers. Sound good?”

Jorel and Grenade walked up to them. “Whatever you guys want to do. Doesn’t matter to me.” He stopped in front of the pile of eggs that were left. “These are all snow eggs. We can’t really do much for them. And I don’t think we should leave these hatchlings alone, either.”

“You think we should take them with us?” Dylan asked.

“We can’t constantly take care of dragon babies while we’re trying to track this guy down,” George said. “There’s only so much we can do.”

He looked up when Monarch’s voice rang through his head. _George, I think we have another problem._

Monarch was staring up at something above the tree line. “What’s wrong?” George asked.

Monarch lowered his head to George’s level. _There’s a dragon rider headed this way._

“What?” George stood up with the hatchling in his arms. “Is it the same one?”

 _Don’t know._ Monarch raised his head again. _It’s hard to tell. Be on guard just in case._

George gently set down the baby dragon. “Get your weapons. There’s a dragon rider coming towards us, and Monarch can’t tell if it’s the same one.”

 _They just went into the trees!_ Monarch said. _I can’t see them anymore!_

George hefted his shield. “They went into the trees.”

Danny cursed under his breath and shoved his book into his bag. Tiger twined herself around Jorel’s torso under his white cloak as he grabbed the spear off his back. Jordon shot to his feet and grabbed the two revolvers from his belt while Dylan gently set his hatchling on the ground.

They stared at the forest in front of them, weapons at the ready. George heard a rustling within the foliage and he held his breath. The rustling got louder. The grass in front of them moved.

A bird hopped out of the grass and snatched a bug off the ground. It spread its wings and fluttered away.

The guys lowered their weapons. “Nice job, Monarch,” George said.

Monarch snorted. _Well, I’m sorry. My sight isn’t was it used to be, George._

Then something exploded through the grass. Dylan screamed in surprise and scrambled backward. George raised his shield as Jorel gripped his spear with both hands.

The dragon that had burst into the clearing let loose a loud screech. They all backed away, but it didn’t move closer. It planted feet in a defensive stance and shrieked, its razor sharp teeth glinting in the sun.

“Wait, wait, wait!” Danny dropped his crossbow and ran to the front of the group. Still screeching, the dragon reared up onto its back feet.

Danny lowered his gold hood and held up his hands. “Hey, it’s okay! We’re not here to hurt you!”

The dragon reeled back and squeaked at Danny. He took a cautious step forward. Both hands were still raised, but he slowly reached out with one of them.

“Hey,” he whispered. “I’m Daniel Murillo. I’m not going to hurt you.”

The dragon stared at his hand. It opened its mouth and let out a halfhearted squeak. Danny took another step closer. The dragon lowered itself back onto all fours. It stretched out its neck to sniff his hand.

Now that the dragon had calmed down, they could have a good look at it. Its wings were a beautiful light shade of blue, but what really caught Jorel’s eye was the fact that they were transparent. The sun shone through them, casting a blue hue onto the grass. The rest of its body looked as if it were cut from gleaming crystal. Riddling its body were shining pink gemstones that matched the shade of its eyes. The gems decorated each large feather on its wings and circled its head like a pink tiara. Every part of the dragon shone in the sunlight and sent beams of light bouncing off its hide.

“Damn,” Jordon mumbled. “And I thought Lion was shiny.”

Lion huffed. Spreading her wings slightly, she jogged over to Danny. She held her shoulders back and glared down her nose at the new dragon. With Lion’s metallic fur, Danny’s golden cloak, and this new crystal dragon, Jorel felt like he was staring into the sun.

A voice echoed through the trees. “Nine! Where are you?”

The dragon turned its head and squawked. Footsteps pounded, and a person brushed aside the bushes.

A skinny man in a grey cloak emerged from the foliage. His black hair stuck out of the hood in small curls. He held a dagger in his hands, but his eyes widened and he lowered the weapon as he looked around the clearing. He looked vaguely familiar, and after a moment, Jorel realized who it was.

Jorel lowered his hood. “Aron?”


	10. Undead

The man stared at Jorel. “Holy shit,” he whispered. He reached up and pushed his hood off his head. “Jorel. What are you doing here?”

Dylan gestured to Aron. “You know this guy?”

“We grew up on the streets together,” Jorel answered. “One day he just disappeared.” He turned back to Aron. “I had no idea you were here. Or alive, for that matter.”

Aron shrugged and walked up to the shiny dragon. “I just didn’t want to stay on Sunset.” He scratched the dragon behind the feathers on its head. “Nine didn’t want to, either.”

George narrowed his eyes. “Wait... I know you. You were supposed to help us.”

Aron blinked. “What?”

“You were the first dragon companion I chose,” George said. “You were supposed to be on Sunset Island when Monarch and I woke up. We were going to come find you so you could help us take down this threat.”

Aron looked up and his eyes widened, as if he’d only just noticed Monarch. “Holy shit. You’re... you’re the Guardian. I’ve read your legend.”

“But why did you leave Sunset?” Jorel asked. “I really could have used your help keeping dragons from being executed.”

Aron hesitated. His glanced back and forth from Monarch to George. “I met Nine when we were fifteen. He was just an egg, and when he hatched, his eyes were...” He gestured to his dragon. “You know. He had no parents. I left town so I could raise him, and once he was big enough, we both decided to leave. I’d figured out that I was a dragon handler, and I was kinda scared that I would be chosen to help fight some big threat once the Guardian woke up. I just...” He shook his head and stepped closer to Nine. “I can’t do that.”

Danny’s shoulders slumped. “So you’re not going to help us?”

“Well, I can tell you if I’ve seen anything, or I can direct you to somewhere you need to go. But other than that, I really don’t want any part in this. I’ve never been a good fighter.”

George grumbled under his breath. “Coward.”

Jordon stepped forward. “Well, could you tell us if you’ve seen a dragon rider around anywhere?”

Aron scratched his chin. “There are a few riders who have left Sunset and pass by here. You’re gonna have to be more specific.”

Jorel blinked. “There are other dragon companions?”

“Yeah, a few. I haven’t seen a lot, but there are one or two that fly around here. What did the rider you’re looking for look like?”

“He had a long brown coat,” Dylan said.

“And a cloth around his face,” Danny added.

Jordon took his goggles out of his bag. “And goggles like these.”

“His dragon was blindfolded,” George said. “And he was really careless with his riding.”

Aron and Nine glanced at each other. “We did see one like that.” He turned around and pointed into the forest. “He was headed toward the Undead Chasm. If you can’t find him there-” He pointed in another direction. “Go east to the Plains of Everywhere. You might be able to see him from there.” He turned back to them. “Do you need a guide?”

“Nah, I can navigate,” Danny said.

Jorel raised his hand. “Hey Aron?” He waved a hand at the pile of eggs and the three hatchlings. “Do you happen to know why so many dragons are leaving their eggs everywhere? I’ve seen a few abandoned eggs, but never this many.”

Aron shook his head. “No, we don’t. We’ve been trying to make nests for all the ones we can, though. If those are snow eggs, we can take care of them.”

Jorel sighed with relief. “Thank you. We didn’t want to leave them.”

George shot Aron a glare. “We should go now.” He walked towards Monarch.

Jorel nodded. “Right.” He was about to follow Jordon to Viral, but he stopped and looked at Aron. “Aron?”

Aron had knelt down and picked up the hatchlings, but he looked up when he heard his name. “Yeah?”

Jorel paused, trying to think of what to say. “It’s good to see you again,” he said finally. “I mean, I thought you were dead, so I guess it’s good to know that you’re... not... dead.”

Aron snorted. “You always were a master of words.”

“Oh, shut up.”

Aron set the hatchlings on Nine’s back. “Good luck. Just, whatever you do, promise me you won’t go to the Black Dahlia Fields or the Grove of Loss. Those places are way too dangerous.”

Jorel nodded. “Okay, I promise.”

“Alright.” He hopped onto Nine’s back with the baby dragons. “We’ll drop these kids off at the Six Hell Raisers. If you need help finding anything, that’s where I am.”

With that, Nine and Aron took off into the air. Jorel turned around and made his way over to Viral. Tiger poked her head out of his cloak.

Jorel scratched her behind the horns. “Here’s hoping we don’t die.”

He hopped onto Viral’s back, and the two dragons took off. Jorel tried to keep his gaze away from the ground as they soared over the land. They stayed much closer to the ground than last time. Jorel hoped that meant it would be a short flight.

He leaned against one of Viral’s ridges and stared into the sky. He had been surprised to see Aron again. The two of them grew up together and often kept each other from dying while on the streets before they found an abandoned house to live in. Once Aron mysteriously disappeared, Jorel was alone until he found baby Tiger in the house, shivering from the cold of the winter outside.

He never really bothered to interact with people after that. The only human friend he’d ever had was gone, so there really wasn’t any point of making more friends, especially if they would just end up hating him because he had Tiger.

Nevertheless, it was good to see Aron again, even if their meeting was brief. Maybe once they chased this dragon rider down, Aron and Nine could come back to Sunset. He doubted that would happen, but he could hope.

His thoughts wandered, and he found himself thinking about the dream he’d had a few nights ago. The one he didn’t remember. He hated that he had no idea what it was about. Every time he tried to remember it, he was left with a disturbing sense of unease.

“So,” Jordon said, shaking Jorel from his thoughts. “You’re friends with that guy?”

Jorel shrugged. “I mean... we _were_ friends. We grew up together on the streets, but we eventually got into this big fight about something. I can’t really remember what it was about, but it was stupid. He disappeared a couple days later, so I always thought he either died or I drove him away.”

Jordon put his goggles on his head. “Just don’t get too excited about seeing him, okay?”

Jorel blinked. “Why not?”

Jordon looked back at Jorel and raised his brow. “I thought we were all kinda thinking the same thing back there. He could be the dragon rider we’re chasing.”

Jorel’s shoulders slumped as this information sank in. “Oh. I didn’t think about that.”

Jordon lowered the goggles over his eyes and turned a knob on the side of them. “Sorry to burst your bubble, man, but we have to be cautious. This guy could be sending us on a wild goose chase right now.” He stared down at the ground. “Hey! I see a chasm!”

Danny popped up behind Monarch’s wing, book in hand. “This is where the map says it is!”

Jorel heard a surprised shriek from Dylan as Monarch suddenly dived to the ground. Viral reared back, and Jorel’s heart leaped into his throat when they shot after Monarch. Jorel clutched onto one of Viral’s ridges with all his strength, trying not to get thrown off by the wind.

Viral stumbled past Monarch once they hit the ground and slowed to a stop. Jordon patted Viral’s neck, not looking the least bit fazed. “Nice job, Viral.”

Jorel put a hand on his chest. His heart pounded beneath his fingers. “Yeah,” he whispered. “Nice.”

They all hopped off their dragons and approached the chasm. “You think he’s in there?” George asked.

Jorel stayed far away from the edge of the chasm. “I hope not.” The forest had been left far behind them, and ice coated the dry ground beneath their feet. One small misstep near the edge of these cliffs could send someone tumbling down.

Dylan waved at the land around them. “Well, they’re certainly not anywhere up here. We might have to go in.”

“Please no,” Jorel groaned. “We’re gonna fall.”

Jordon reached out and patted his shoulder. “We’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”

Monarch growled and George heaved a sigh. “Right. Monarch can’t fit, and neither can Viral.”

Dylan leaned over the side of the chasm, and Jorel half expected him to fall. “I don’t know if Lion can fit, either. I mean, her wingspan is a little too big. It would be a tight squeeze.”

“What about Grenade?” Danny asked. “Their wings look pretty much the same.”

Dylan walked up to Grenade and lifted his wings. “You might be right.” He looked at Jorel. “I think Tiger is the only one who can fit in there with us.”

“How are we even going to get to the bottom?” Jorel asked.

Dylan let go of Grenade’s wings and flicked his wrists. His knives shot out of his sleeves and into his hands. “I got chain daggers, man. I can probably get down there.”

Danny fiddled with his crossbow. “Maybe I can-” He yelped when a bolt shot out of the weapon. A thin rope trailed from the arrow to the crossbow. “Oh. That’s what that lever does.”

George shrugged. “I’ll figure something out.”

Hoping for some comfort, Jorel turned to Tiger. She briefly pressed her nose to his cheek before staring ahead at the chasm.

Jorel took a deep breath. “We’re so gonna die.” He unstrapped both of his throwing axes from his belt and held them out to Jordon. “You can probably climb with these.”

Jordon took the axes. “You’re just a walking armory, aren’t you?”

Jorel took his spear off his back with one hand and unsheathed his dagger with the other. “Let’s get this over with.”

“Cool!” Dylan let his knife fly from his hand. It struck through the ice in the ground, and he held tight onto the chain as he jumped over the side of the cliff.

George drew his sword. “See you at the bottom.” He leaped over to the other side of the chasm, and the ice broke when his blade jabbed into the rock. Shards of ice flew from the ice as he slid down the wall.

Danny aimed his crossbow at the ground and let another arrow fly. The thin rope in the bow didn’t look all that strong, but Danny just shrugged and lowered himself over the side. Jordon followed right behind him with Jorel’s axes.

Jorel peered over the side. He could barely see the bottom of the chasm, but he steeled his nerves and struck his spear into the ground. He lowered himself down and jabbed his dagger in the icy wall. The feeling of Tiger twined around his shoulders was comforting. It gave him something to focus on that wasn’t the extreme distance between him and the ground.

He scrambled for a foothold as he removed his spear and stabbed it lower in the wall. He could still hear George scraping down the ice, along with the sharp ticks of Jordon making his way down. He could see Dylan’s chain and Danny’s rope on either side of him.

“You okay, Jorel?” someone shouted. Jorel didn’t bother looking down to see who it was.

“I’m fine,” he shouted.

He yelped and almost let go of his spear when Dylan’s knife shot out of the ice. It whipped past him and plummeted to the ground.

“You good, Funny Man?” Jordon yelled.

“Yeah! It’s not as far down as you think!”

Jorel sighed and kept going.

Danny’s rope went slack. Jorel heard his feet thud on the ground. He risked a glance below him and watched as Jordon yanked the axes out of the ice and hopped down. Jorel was a lot closer to the ground than he thought he was.

Dylan looked up at Jorel. “Jump down, homie! I can catch you if you want!”

Jorel rolled his eyes, but he yanked his dagger out of the ice. Holding onto his spear, he sheathed his dagger and braced his legs against the wall. He pushed off. The spearhead broke out of the ice as he fell. He expected to land on the ground, but instead he felt an arm on his back and another one under his knees.

Dylan grinned at Jorel, who was now cradled in Dylan’s arms. “Fun trust exercise.”

Jorel nodded. “Yeah. Fun. Sure.”

Dylan let Jorel stand up and they all looked around the chasm floor. Most of it was caked in a layer of frost. Jorel shivered in the cold and clutched his cloak tighter around his shoulders. Mounds of what seemed to be dirt stuck out of the ground, each one covered in ice. The walls were just far enough apart to let all of them walk side-by-side. Fog and dust floated through the air, obscuring their vision of both ends of the cavern.

George shuddered. “Cold.”

“I don’t see the rider anywhere,” Jordon said as he held the axes out to Jorel.

Danny’s knuckles were white on his crossbow. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

“Hang on.” George walked up to one of the icy mounds. He prodded it with his sword, and a sharp metal clang echoed through the chasm. He jabbed his sword into the mound and pushed the handle down. A shield covered in ice flew out of it and clattered to the ground.

“Why is that here?” Jorel whispered. He glanced at Tiger, but she just shrugged.

Jorel tromped over to another mound and stabbed his spear into it. He pulled the end down. A silver knight’s helmet catapulted out of the ice, and Jordon ducked as it flew over his head.

Dylan leaned down and picked up the helmet. “There are weapons here?” he muttered, turning it over in his hands.

George stared down at the shield he’d freed from the ice. “You guys remember the big human takeover attempt from a thousand years ago?”

“Yeah,” Danny said. “Why?”

George kicked the shield. “I think this is where they ended up.”

Danny gazed at the mounds of weapons covered in ice. “Shit.”

Jorel reared back his spear to jab at another pile of ice, but he stopped when Tiger perked up and whipped her head around to stare behind them. Her ears twitched and she cocked her head like she was listening to something.

Jorel lowered his spear. “What’s wrong?”

Tiger grunted and leaned toward the sound. “Hey guys?” Jorel called. “I think Tiger hears something.”

Danny rushed forward. “What is it?”

“I don’t know, but I think we should go find it.”

Dylan gestured ahead of them with one of his knives. “Lead the way.”

Jorel kept a tight grip on his spear as he walked along the chasm wall. Tiger kept her gaze straight ahead. The only parts of her that moved were her ears. They swiveled and twitched as the group made their way through the chasm.

Tiger squeaked and squeezed herself tighter around Jorel’s shoulders. He stopped in his tracks. “What is it?”

She snaked into Jorel’s cloak and huddled around his torso. She stuck her head out of his hood to look at him with wide, pleading eyes.

Danny clenched his crossbow tighter. “I don’t think we should go any further.”

“Wait,” George said. “I think I hear something.”

They all listened. Soon, Danny began to hear it: the distant rumbling of a voice just ahead of them. They couldn’t see much past all the fog and dust, but Danny could have sworn he saw two faint silhouettes of people.

Dylan put up the hood of his cloak and gestured for the others to crouch down. He stayed close to the wall and tiptoed towards the silhouettes. The black fabric of his cloak seemed to melt into the shadows along the wall, and Danny lost sight of him after a moment.

“Where did he go?” Jordon whispered.

Jorel squinted. “There, I think.” He pointed to a shadow disappearing into the fog.

Danny felt a hand on his shoulder and tensed. He shot a glance at Jordon. “Dude, don’t touch me.”

Jordon turned to look at Danny. Danny’s eyes widened when he saw that both of Jordon’s hands were occupied by his revolvers.

“I didn’t touch-” Jordon stopped and blinked. “Uh... I think there’s something on your shoulder.”

Danny slowly turned his head. On his shoulder was a hand. Its skin was so pale, it almost seemed to glow in the darkness of the chasm. Its skeletal fingers stuck out of a silver gauntlet. White mist floated out from under the metal.

The hand clenched his shoulder and yanked him backwards. He yelped and wrenched himself away. He shot to his feet and whirled around to look at the owner of the hand.

Except there was no one there. His gaze traveled downward and he spotted the hand scrabbling at the ground, attached to an equally pale arm sticking out of the icy ground.

Jorel and George stood up, their weapons at the ready.

“What the fuck is that?” Danny whispered.

George pointed to it with his sword. “It’s a hand, Daniel.”

They heard a loud clang of metal whirled around. “FUCK!” Dylan’s voice shouted. He dashed back through the fog with his knives in his hands. “That’s definitely the dragon rider!”

“Why did you attack him?” George yelled.

“I didn’t! He attacked me!”

“You just startled me!” a new voice said.

They stared through the fog and raised their weapons. The two silhouettes walked towards them. Danny clenched his crossbow, ready to shoot at a moment’s notice. They emerged through the fog and stopped in front of the group.

Sure enough, one of them was dressed exactly the same as the dragon rider. The goggles over his eyes, the cloth covering his face, and the long brown coat hadn’t changed since the first time they saw him.

The other person, however, was completely new- and horrifying. Mist curled off their white skin. Golden armor coated in a thin layer of ice hung off their skeletal frame. The frost cracked each time they moved. Their hollow cheeks left shadows in their face, and their eyes were nothing but dark, empty sockets.

“What the fuck are _you_?” Jordon shrieked. “You look horrifying!”

“That’s straight up nightmare fuel,” Jorel agreed.

The rider crossed his arms. “Well, that’s a little rude.”

“What are you doing here?” George demanded.

The rider shrugged. “Just getting a little help. I have an army of dragons, but I don’t think that will be enough to keep you away from me. You five seem very persistent on chasing me. I really do have to give you props for your determination, but there’s no way you can stop me. I need a little extra help to keep you off my ass while I try to destroy all of dragonkind.”

“And you think an old skeleton man is going to help you?” Dylan scoffed.

Danny couldn’t see the rider’s face, but he got the feeling he was smiling. “Not just one old skeleton man.”

Danny felt something latch onto his ankle and whirled around. Another ghostly hand had burst out of the ground. He stepped away from the hand, aiming his crossbow at the fingers scrabbling at the ice. The hand braced itself against the ground and pulled. An arm popped out of the ice with it.

“Eww!” Jordon yelled. Two hands from two different mounds had grabbed his legs. He aimed his revolver at one of them and shot. It let go, and he wrenched his leg away from the other.

Danny watched as the hand that had grabbed his shoulder pulled itself out of the ground. An entire torso exploded out of the ice along with it. The body was missing its other arm and its head, but that didn’t stop it from hauling itself out of the ground and wrenching its legs out of the ice.

All around them, the mounds of weapons and armor shifted as ghostly soldiers freed themselves from the ground. Many of them were missing various body parts, but each one grabbed a weapon as soon as they were upright and stared at the five of them with empty eyes.

Dylan started backing away. “Oh, this is disgusting.”

“They’re not actual bodies,” George said. “Those would have decomposed around nine hundred years ago.”

“They look pretty real to me,” Jorel muttered. Tiger whimpered and huddled into his cloak.

Danny’s eyes narrowed as the undead soldiers stumbled towards them. “This was a fucking trap. You came here knowing we would follow you and that we couldn’t escape without our dragons.”

The rider shrugged. “What can I say? I’m a genius.” He turned to the soldier next to him. “Kill them, please. I have some errands to run.”

He turned and started walking along the chasm as every undead warrior set their sights on the five of them. They waited, wracking their brains for any plan that might get them out of this mess.

Every soldier suddenly raised their weapons and unleashed a deafening war cry that made Jordon want to drop his guns and cover his ears. They all rushed forward at once.

Jordon dodged a soldier’s blade and shot wildly into the crowd. He was grateful for his unlimited ammo. He wouldn’t be able to reload in this chaos if he tried.

He felt a shield strike his back and stopped firing as the wind was knocked out of his lungs. The shield slammed into him again and he fell forward. He turned over onto his back just as a soldier raised its spear above his head. He squeezed his eyes shut, but the clang of metal made him open them again.

George stood over him, blocking the soldier’s weapon with his shield. Jordon raised a gun and pointed it past George’s head at the soldier. He pulled the trigger, and the soldier’s head exploded in a burst of white mist.

Jordon shot to his feet and stood back to back with George. He kicked at an undead solider that had gotten too close before planting a bullet in its head.

“How do we get out of here?” George shouted as he sliced through a soldier with his blade.

“I don’t know!” Jordon punched one soldier and shot another. “Where are the others?”

George craned his neck to see over the crowd. Tiger had emerged from Jorel’s cloak and was leaping through the crowd, distracting the soldiers as Jorel stabbed them with his spear. Danny smashed his crossbow over one soldier’s head, then immediately turned and shot two more. Dylan had been swept away by the crowd. He was holding the soldiers off okay, but sweat gleamed on his forehead and three shallow cuts spanned his face.

“Dylan needs help!” George yelled to Jordon.

Tiger must have heard him, because she squeaked at Jorel and hopped across soldier’s helmets to reach Dylan. She attacked a soldier’s face just as it was about to stab at him with its sword.

George raised his shield as an undead soldier jabbed a halberd at his chest. It clanged against the shield, but it immediately reared back and swung the axe side of the weapon towards his legs. It scraped against his knees, and he shouted in pain. The weapon wasn’t sharp, so it’s not like the cut was deep, but it was also jagged and painful. He sliced his sword at the soldier and it went down in a cloud of white mist.

He felt Jordon crash against his back. “Fuck!” Jordon yelled. He heard a gunshot, followed by the thump of a soldier’s body hitting the ground.

George parried a swinging blade with his own and stabbed a soldier in the chest. They were holding up okay, but who knew how many more of these things there were? George could already feel his sword arm growing heavy. Part of Danny’s once bright cloak was coated in blood, and he grimaced in pain as he fired arrow after arrow into the fray. Jordon’s gunshots paused, and he swayed on his feet and bumped into George before taking up fire again. George couldn’t even see Dylan and Jorel anymore.

Then he spotted something moving down the face of the chasm wall. It seemed to be some kind of animal. It had dug its claws into the ice and was slowly scraping down towards the bottom. Once it was halfway down, it launched itself off the wall and disappeared into the army of undead soldiers. George could have sworn he saw a flash of gold fur as it ducked into the crowd.

Some of the soldiers cried out and turned their attention to the newcomer. Armor and ghostly undead bodies flew as the thing tore through the army. He heard Danny yell something, but he couldn’t make out what it was.

George watched as the animal leaped out of the army again, and a grin stretched across his face when he saw what it was. Lion had dived into the chasm and found Dylan in the crowd. He clung to her back as she dug her claws into the wall and started climbing back up to the top. Most of the soldiers had gathered around below her, throwing weapons and shouting at her as she scrabbled up the wall.

Dylan said something, and she stopped climbing. He jabbed his dagger into the wall and hopped off her back. He started making his way up the wall on his own as Lion turned around and hopped down again.

Jordon ducked under a soldier’s sword before firing at its chest. “Why’s Lion here?”

George stabbed another soldier in the head. “Don’t question it, man!”

Almost the entire army had fixated on Lion, and the fray moved with her as she dived back in. She emerged a moment later with Jorel and Tiger on her back. She scrambled back up the wall, deposited them at the top of the chasm, and slid back down as fast as she could.

Danny kicked a stray soldier and aimed his crossbow at the wall. An arrow attached to a rope flew out of the weapon and broke through the ice. The weapon reeled him toward the arrow, and he shot through the air and landed on the wall. He scanned the crowd. George locked eyes with him, and Danny yelled something to Lion and gestured in George’s direction.

Lion leaped down and made a beeline for George and Jordon. She stopped in front of them, dodging sword swings and spear jabs. George grabbed Jordon’s cloak and pulled him over to Lion. Blood leaked from Jordon’s shoulder. He holstered both of his guns and climbed onto her back.

George parried another sword as Lion climbed all the way up the chasm again. He’d be fine. He just had to wait another moment.

Pain shot through his body as a soldier slammed the back of his head with a shield. He stumbled, disoriented, and another one slashed at him with a dagger. He backed up, but his foot hit a stray weapon and he toppled backward. He raised his shield just as a sword jabbed down towards his face.

Dylan had started climbing up the wall, but he removed a dagger and twisted around to look at the chaos below. Most of the undead soldiers were still distracted by Lion climbing up the chasm, but since George was the only one down there, the ones who weren’t distracted had all converged on him. He was on the ground with his shield held above him, the only thing keeping the soldiers from stabbing him in the head.

Dylan braced his feet against the wall and reared back his dagger. He threw it down to George, the black chain trailing behind it. The blade thudded into the ground next to him.

“Grab on!” Dylan shouted.

George slammed his shield upward, knocking back the enemies for a brief moment as he yanked the dagger out of the ice. Dylan grabbed the chain and whipped it upwards. The chain snaked back into his sleeve and George flew out of the crowd of soldiers. Dylan had no idea where the chains went when they disappeared into his shirt, but he tried to ignore that thought as George shot up next to Dylan.

He stabbed his sword into the ice to steady himself. “Here’s your dagger.”

Dylan took the knife. “Thanks.” He jabbed it into the wall and removed the other one. He twirled it on the chain. “Hey Jorel!”

Jorel stuck his head over the side of the chasm. Blood dribbled from his nose and his hairline and he looked half unconscious, but he still managed to croak out a reply. “Yeah?”

“Can you help us up?”

Jorel nodded. Dylan tossed his dagger up as hard as he could and Jorel caught the chain. Dylan removed his other blade from the ice and it disappeared into his sleeve. He held out a hand to George, letting himself dangle by the one chain. “Come on.”

George grabbed his hand and sheathed his sword. Dylan tugged on the chain and the two of them shot upward. They reached the top and Jorel grabbed Dylan’s arm to pull him up.

The two of them collapsed on the ground. “That fucking sucked,” George mumbled.

Jordon seemed barely conscious himself, but he leaned against Viral and tossed herbs into his mortar. “Yeah, no shit.”

Dylan sat up and glanced around. “Where’s Lion?”

“She went back down to get Danny,” Jorel answered. Tiger huddled around his shoulders, lapping at the blood on his face to clean his wounds.

Grenade squawked and rushed over to Dylan. He licked at the cuts on Dylan’s face, and he reached up to scratch his dragon behind the horns. “Yeah, I’m fine. Don’t worry.”

Lion poked her head up out of the chasm. Panting, she pulled herself up and collapsed on the ground. Danny rolled off her back and lay next to her. He patted her flank. “You did amazing, Lion.”

She whined and flexed her claws. Dylan scooted closer to her and scratched her wings. “Not built for climbing, huh?”

Monarch lowered his head down to the ground next to George and growled. George sighed in response. “Aron led us into a trap. A bunch of dead soldiers from a thousand years ago came back to life and attacked us.”

Jordon stood up and walked over to Jorel. “If not for Lion, we’d probably be dead.” He sat down. “Yo Jay, gimme your face.”

Jorel was so out of it that he didn’t complain about Jordon calling him Jay. He leaned over, and Jordon scooped some paste out of his mortar to dab on Jorel’s wounds.

“We don’t know that it’s Aron,” Jorel muttered.

“He did take off just before us and head in the exact same direction he told us to go,” George said. “He could have gone into the chasm and raised the dead before we got there.”

“Whether it’s Aron or not, we have to stop him,” Danny said.

“How?” Jordon asked. “He’s got an army of dragons, and if he can raise the dead to do his bidding, we’re not gonna be safe anywhere.”

Dylan nodded. “He said he’s going to destroy all of dragon-”

“I don’t give a fuck what he said,” Jorel grumbled.

Jordon removed his hand from Jorel’s face. “You okay, man?”

Jorel scowled. “He thinks he can just go and kill every dragon in the world, but he doesn’t know the lengths we’ve all gone to _protect_ dragons.” He looked at Jordon. “You isolated yourself from people for years just so you can fly around and heal dragons.”

Jordon shrugged and resumed spreading the paste on Jorel’s forehead. “Eh. People suck anyway.”

Jorel pointed to Dylan. “You became a burglar just so you could take care of dragons and give them a good place to live. You could have been put to death or had your hands chopped off for that.”

Dylan raised an eyebrow. “You think he has a concussion?” he whispered to Danny.

Jorel turned to Danny. “You lived in a burned up town for twenty years without talking to anyone so you could help dragons who need it. Who _does_ that?”

Danny nodded. “Definitely a concussion.”

“And don’t even get me _started_ on you.” Jorel said to George. “You’re a fucking _legend_ because you refused to let people kill your dragon. That’s some god damn dedication.”

“Don’t forget about yourself, man,” George said. “You and Tiger have saved a shit ton of dragons from execution. That’s pretty impressive.”

Jorel took a deep breath. “That guy better stay the fuck out of our way. We’re gonna... we’re gonna protect every fuckin’ dragon in this realm. Fuck that guy.”

Jordon dabbed some paste onto a cut on Jorel’s cheek. “We appreciate the compliments, but I’m thinking that was just the blood loss talking.”

Jorel nodded slowly. “Yeah, maybe. Does anyone else feel dizzy?”

George grimaced and touched the wounds on his legs. “We should get going as soon as we’re feeling better. Where are we going now?”

Danny reached into his bag and pulled out his book. It was a miracle that it had remained unharmed through that whole battle. “The Plains of Everywhere.”

Dylan glanced over the edge of the chasm. Many of the undead soldiers had collapsed into piles of armor, their bodies disintegrating into white mist, but a few were still gathered around the chasm wall. They spotted him leaning over the edge, and an angry yell rose up from the chasm. They hit the wall with their weapons as they screamed.

Dylan turned back around and sighed. “We’re so fucked.”


	11. Everywhere I Go

Once they were all more or less healed, they hopped on their dragons and took off towards the Plains of Everywhere. Jordon and Jorel still seemed half unconscious. They had both lost a lot of blood during the fight in the Undead Chasm, but they seemed to be holding up alright.

Danny looked down at Viral. “We’re almost there!” he shouted. Part of his golden cape was still soaked in his own blood. He’d gotten sliced across the back a couple times, but luckily the cuts were all pretty shallow.

Jordon and Jorel, on the other hand, had each been stabbed multiple times in multiple places. None of the wounds were fatal, but they bled quite a bit. Dylan had escaped with only a few scratches on his face, and George just had a couple cuts on his legs. Because of this, George and Dylan had designated themselves the babysitters of the group for the time being.

Jordon started slipping out of his seat on Viral’s back, so Dylan reached out and put a hand on his shoulder to steady him. “You still with me, Scene?”

Jordon nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m good.”

“There it is!” Danny yelled.

Dylan leaned past the ridge in front of him to look ahead. The forest had broken into a large flat plain that stretched across the land. The grass waved in the wind, making the entire land seem like it was moving.

Monarch swooped down toward the field. Viral shot after him, and Grenade squawked and clutched a ridge with his front paws as they zoomed toward the ground.

They settled in the grass. Everyone slid off the dragons’ backs into the grass. The grass reached up to Danny’s chest, and he tried to keep his crossbow above it as he waded through the field.

Dylan gazed out over the plain. “I don’t know about you guys, but I don’t really see everywhere from here.”

“All I see is grass,” George agreed. Butterflies fluttered up from the grass and settled on his shoulders. One landed on his nose, but he didn’t seem to notice or care.

Monarch craned his neck. _Me too._ He furrowed his brow and looked down at Danny. _How is this supposed to work?_

Danny couldn’t have heard Monarch, but he seemed to understand his confused expression. He slung his crossbow over his shoulder and dug into his bag for his book. “It says there’s some kind of magic that helps you see places you need to go. In our case, we just need to find where the dragon rider is, so it should show us that.” He looked around the field. “Eventually.”

“So we just have to wait for it to show us something?” Jorel asked. “How long is that going to take?”

“Not sure.” Danny shut the book. “I guess we just... wait.”

Dylan and Grenade wandered through the grass. “Sounds fun.” He ran his hand along the top of the grass as he walked. “Hey Grenade? How do you think the dragons are doing back home?”

Grenade grunted. He snapped at the grass and ripped a few blades out of the ground.

Dylan shoved his hands into the pockets of his pants. “I hope we left them with enough food. I mean, we’ve left them alone for a few days before, but I don’t know how long we’ll be gone.”

Grenade munched on the grass. He seemed too focused on eating to care about what Dylan was saying.

Dylan kept talking to him anyway. “I want to go check on them. Just to see if they’re doing okay.”

The wind picked up and Dylan swatted his hair out of his face. “Fuckin’ wind. I should have tied this back.”

He put up his hood and tucked his hair into it. Once it was out of his eyes, he saw that the wind had flattened all of the grass to the ground. The others had put up their hoods as well, but Danny had taken his book back out of his bag and was trying to flip through it.

The wind got stronger and George stumbled into Viral. The butterflies on his cloak didn’t even budge in the wind. “What’s happening?”

Danny frantically flipped through his book. “I don’t know. I think maybe it’s the magic?”

Dylan stared down at the grass. As it rippled in the wind, the blades seemed to curve into shapes. Dylan watched as it slowly changed colour, and the entire field took on the image of a scene he knew all too well.

“Hey!” he shouted. “That’s our cave!”

The scene in the grass was mostly brown, showing the dirt walls of the cave in the forest Dylan and Grenade lived in. The trapdoor in the ceiling of the main room was still open. Beams of light poured into the dirt cave, and as Dylan watched, the big dragon with the yellow eyes tromped out of one of the rooms and lay down right in the middle of the light. Shadow dragons huddled in the corners of the room, and light dragons fluttered around the ceiling.

Jorel walked up to Dylan, holding his hood so it stayed over his head. “What did you do?”

“I don’t know. I was just telling Grenade that I wanted to check on the dragons at home, and there they are.”

George furrowed his brow. “Maybe that’s it.” He cleared his throat. “I want to see the Guardian’s Keep!”

The wind changed direction and he stumbled into Danny. Dylan’s cave disappeared as the grass morphed into new shapes. They formed an image of a large pond surrounded by ruins. Butterflies fluttered from flower to flower in the water.

“Cool,” Dylan muttered.

Jordon shook his head. “I feel weird. Is magic supposed to make your brain feel tingly?”

Danny stood behind Lion to shield himself from the wind as he looked through his book. “Maybe. I don’t know. It might still be the blood loss.”

Jordon nodded. “Okay.” He stared at Dylan. He seemed transfixed by a stray curl hanging out of Dylan’s hood. “Your hair has curls.”

Dylan shrugged. “It was humid in the Keep. It’ll calm down by tomorrow.”

Jordon tugged on the curl. He let go and watched as it bounced back up. “Curly.”

Dylan chuckled. “Dude, how much blood did you lose?”

Danny looked up from the book. “Uh... I want to see my home. The burned town in Sunset.”

The wind shifted, and Danny yelped as his book almost flew out of his hands. The scene changed from the Keep to a dirt road lined with charred, ashy houses. A few dragons were lying in the street. George watched as a hatchling pounced on the remains of the fire they had made just the day before.

Dylan muttered something and Jordon suddenly burst out laughing. He leaned against Dylan as he cackled. Dylan started giggling with him.

Danny snorted. “What are you guys laughing about?”

For some reason, this only made them laugh harder. Danny snickered. Dylan mumbled something else, and after a moment, Danny was howling along with the other two.

George raised an eyebrow. “Are they okay?” he asked Jorel.

Jorel either didn’t notice or didn’t care. He stared down at the scene in the grass. “I want to see Aron,” he said.

The wind changed again. Jordon, Dylan, and Danny all stumbled into Grenade, who stared at them with confusion.

The grass rippled, and an image of the sky appeared. The shiny crystal dragon from the forest flew through the clouds. Aron sat on its back as the two of them landed in a forest. George immediately wondered if this meant Aron had been lying about being a handler and was actually a dragon rider, but then he noticed that there were no reins in his hands. Still, he couldn’t shake his suspicion of the guy. He was the only other person they’d seen so far other than the rider, and Aron was the one who had told them to go to the Undead Chasm and sent them into a battle.

Danny managed to stop laughing long enough to whisper something to Jordon. Whatever he said sent the three of them into a fresh fit of laughter. Wheezing, Dylan collapsed on the ground, almost pulling Jordon down with him.

Jorel turned around. “What the fuck is wrong with you guys?”

“Hang on.” George walked up to Danny and took the book from his hands. He flipped it to the page on the Plains of Everywhere and scanned the paragraphs.

Monarch leaned down. _I think it’s getting to Lion and Viral too,_ he said.

George looked up. Lion and Viral were both shaking with silent giggles. Viral made some weird dragon noise that George couldn’t understand, and Lion barked out a laugh. Even Grenade was making a noise that George assumed was snickering.

Tiger poked her head out of Jorel’s cloak. She tilted her head at the other dragons in confusion.

George continued looking at Danny’s book. He sighed. “Danny, why didn’t you tell us this place has a powerful magical atmosphere that affects your brain and makes you totally loopy?”

Danny wheezed. “Didn’t... get that... far...” he managed between breaths. He took a deep breath and stopped laughing, but he glanced at Jordon and they both snorted. They launched into another round of laughing.

Jorel peeked over George’s shoulder to read the page. “So it’s like magic drugs?”

George shut the book. “We’d better do this quick before we go off the shits too.” He turned back to the field. The image of Aron had long faded, but the wind kept the grass flat. “I want to see where the dragon rider is. The one we’re chasing.”

The wind whipped in the opposite direction. Danny stumbled and almost tripped over Dylan, which was apparently hilarious to the three of them and their dragons.

Another scene appeared in the grass. The dragon rider’s face was still hidden by his goggles and cloth. He stood on the same black and green dragon he’d been on when he ambushed the Guardian’s Keep. A flock of dragons trailed after them. The dragon he was on still had the blindfold, and every time he had to change direction, he jerked harshly on the reins.

Jorel glanced back at the others. Dylan had pushed himself to his feet, and they all stumbled around like they were shitfaced. Jordon and Danny were trying to sing some kind of song in between laughing, which wasn’t going too well. However, the attempt only made Dylan and their dragons laugh harder. Lion was leaning against Grenade, and Viral had collapsed in a fit of growly dragon giggles. Jorel felt a laugh rise up in his throat at the sight, but he stifled it. If he got loopy, George would be responsible for all of them.

Jorel turned back to the scene in the field. He and George watched as the rider steered his dragons over a lake. George flipped through Danny’s book to reach the map. “That looks like the Hate Lake.”

The rider continued over the lake for a minute, but it wasn’t long before he left it behind and descended towards a large flat plain. It took Jorel a moment to realize that the field he was flying over was entirely black.

“The Black Dahlia Fields,” George whispered. “Shit. Why the fuck is he going there?”

“I don’t know. We have to follow him, though.”

“This says that anyone who goes there doesn’t leave.”

“Well, we’ve got to go there and make sure _he_ doesn’t leave. If he doesn’t die in there, we’ve gotta get rid of him ourselves.”

George sighed. “You’re right.” He shut the book. “Hey dumbasses! We’re leaving!”

“ _You’re_ a dumbass!” Dylan yelled. The others collapsed wheezing.

George rolled his eyes. He walked up to Danny and shoved the book into his bag. He grabbed Danny and Dylan by their cloaks and pulled them towards Monarch. “Lion, Grenade, come on. Let’s go.”

Lion made a noise in her throat and Grenade howled with laughter. However, they managed to stumble towards Monarch after their companions.

Jorel walked up to Jordon and grabbed the back of his cloak. “Come on, man. Let’s go.”

He pulled Jordon towards Viral, but he didn’t know how he would be able to get Viral flying since he was also engulfed in a fit of giggles. Jordon’s laughter faded into wheezing, but then he mumbled something to himself and it picked up again.

Jorel leaned in to hear what he was saying. “Who the fuck is Ashton Kutcher?”

This question seemed hilarious to Jordon. His legs almost buckled as he began laughing even harder. Jorel grabbed Jordon’s arm and slung it over his shoulders. “Alright, come on. We’re getting out of here.”

They reached Viral, and Jorel managed to push Jordon onto his dragon’s back. He settled Jordon between two of Viral’s ridges, which was hard because Viral was also shaking with laughter.

Once he was satisfied that Jordon was stable enough, he hopped on behind him and put a hand on Jordon’s arm to keep him steady. “Hey Viral,” he said. “Could you fly us out of here?”

Viral wheezed and took a deep breath. His laughter faded and he spread his wings. Monarch took off first, and Viral chuckled one last time before launching into the air and flying after him.


	12. Black Dahlia

George turned to Dylan. “You’re an awful babysitter.”

Dylan groaned. He was seated between two of Monarch’s spikes and hunched over himself. He clutched his head in his hands. “Why does my head hurt?”

“I think it’s some kind of magical hangover,” Jorel called from Viral.

Viral and Monarch were flying side by side so that Jorel and George could supervise the other three together. Viral had slowed down and kept grunting in pain, so Jorel assumed that the dragons were suffering as much as their companions.

George looked down at Danny’s book. “I hope I’m leading us in the right direction,” he mumbled. He glanced at the compass and gently tugged on the reins. Monarch banked to the left, and Viral followed after a moment.

Jorel nudged Jordon. “How you feeling?”

Jordon rubbed his eyes. “I feel like I just chugged a forty and smashed the bottle against my head.”

“Where are we going now?” Danny groaned. He and Lion sat far back near Monarch’s wings, so he had to yell louder for Jorel to hear him.

“Black Dahlia Fields,” George answered. “That’s where the dragon rider is, so that’s where we’re going.”

Jordon mumbled something and Jorel leaned forward to hear him. “What?”

“Danny said that place is dangerous,” Jordon repeated.

“We’ve got no choice,” Jorel said. “If he’s going there, we have to follow him and take him down.”

George looked down. “We’re above the Hate Lake. Almost there.”

Danny gazed out over the lake. The light of the setting sun gleamed on the calm surface of the water. “It looks really pretty for something named after hate.”

Jorel stared ahead, trying to catch a glimpse of the fields. “Danny, does the book say why no one comes out of the Black Dahlia Fields?”

Danny walked across Monarch’s neck to stand next to George. He reached over and snatched the book from George’s lap. “I don’t think so,” he said, flipping through the pages. He stopped on a page and read through the paragraphs. “Nope. It’s a mystery.”

“Guess we’re going in blind,” Jordon muttered.

Dylan leaned forward and narrowed his eyes. “I think I see it.”

Everyone followed his gaze across the water. In the distance, a line of black surrounded the shoreline. As they got closer, it expanded over the horizon, revealing a large field of black flowers spread across the land. They couldn’t even see the end of it.

They began to descend as they approached. Jorel gripped the spear on his back. He didn’t know what was going to be waiting for them in those fields, but he wanted to be prepared.

They left the lake behind and both dragons lowered themselves onto the ground. The air here was chillier than the rest of the island, and they all clutched their cloaks tighter around them.

Dylan and Grenade hopped off Monarch’s back and landed in the flowers. Grenade lowered his head and snapped up a couple flower buds, but Dylan nudged him with his elbow. “Dude, these could be poisonous. We don’t know.”

Grenade stared down at the flowers. He opened his mouth and the buds fell from his mouth.

Danny and Lion jumped down after them. Danny kept going through his book. “It says this place is magic, but it doesn’t say what the magic does.”

Jorel slid off Viral’s back and waded through the flowers. Tiger sniffed at them as he walked. “Well, it’s pretty.”

George and Jordon jumped off their dragons’ backs. “Doesn’t seem too dangerous,” George said.

 _It’s actually quite beautiful,_ Monarch observed. He raised his head and gazed out over the field. _Especially from up here._

Jordon gazed out over the field. He still seemed a little disoriented, but he managed to speak. “So where do you think the dragon rider is?”

George looked up at Monarch. “You see him?”

Monarch narrowed his eyes. _No, I don’t. I’m not sure whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing._

Danny shut his book. “Well, maybe he moved on. We should probably go before something-”

He was cut off when an oddly familiar dragon swooped down from the sky. He ducked down the ground as it passed over him and went straight for the flowers. It face planted into the field with a yelp. 

Jordon rushed forward. He knelt next to the dragon as it lay still in the flowers. “Hey, are you okay?”

The dragon whined as he looked it over for wounds. Its hide was mostly black, but green stripes went down its body and across its wings, and white swirls decorated its dark scales. “You seem fine. Maybe you’re-” He gasped and covered his mouth with his hands when he reached its face. “Oh my god!”

Dylan ran forward. “What? Is it- oh.”

The others gathered around them. Jordon gently picked up the dragon’s head and set it in his lap. Where the dragon’s four eyes should have been, its face was riddled with cuts and scratches. The white remains of its eyes glistened with tears as it tried to blink over the wounds. 

“That’s awful,” Danny whispered. 

“Can you heal it?” Jorel asked. 

Jordon examined the wounds. “Maybe. Even if I can, its eyesight is totally shot.” He reached into his bag and pulled out a cloth. He held it up to Dylan. “Soak this in water and bring it back.”

Dylan took the cloth. “On it.” He and Grenade ran through the flowers to the shoreline. 

Jordon took out his mortar and pestle. “This wasn’t accidental. These wounds were made by a knife.”

A flower petal stuck to Jorel’s cloak and he swiped it away. “It must have been the dragon rider. There’s no one else it could have been.”

George’s eyes widened. “I thought this dragon was familiar. That’s the one he was riding when he attacked us.”

“Then he’s definitely around here somewhere,” Danny said. 

Dylan rushed back to them with the wet cloth. He tossed it to Jordon, who caught it in one hand and turned back to the dragon. 

“I’m just going to clean the blood off,” he said softly. “It might hurt a little.”

The dragon whimpered in response, but it stayed still as Jordon gently wiped at its face with the wet cloth. Then he set the cloth aside and started tossing dried herbs into his mortar. 

Jorel sat down across from Jordon. “Why the fuck would he do this?”

“Beats me,” Jordon muttered. “The guy’s an asshole. I wouldn’t put it past him to do something like this.”

“Well it’s pretty fucked up,” Danny said. 

“No shit,” George whispered. He kept a hand on the pommel of his sword.

Tiger hopped off Jorel’s shoulders. She sniffed at the dragon as Jordon mixed things up in his mortar. She licked at the dragon’s head and whined. 

Jordon took the cloth and wrung some water into his mortar. “Did your rider do this?”

The dragon whimpered. “I think that’s a yes,” Danny said. 

“Why?” Dylan asked. 

The dragon shuddered and flicked its tail. “She did something her rider didn’t like,” Danny translated. “Removed the blindfold, maybe. That could be why he scratched up her eyes.”

“Maybe he shouldn’t have blindfolded his dragon in the first place,” George grumbled. Monarch grunted in agreement. 

Jordon wiped his pestle on the cloth. “I’m just going to put this on your eyes,” he said. He scooped up some of the paste he made with his finger. “Stay still.”

The dragon remained quiet as he carefully spread the paste over her eyes. 

“Your rider is here, right?” George asked. “Do you know where he is?”

The dragon growled. George turned to Danny for a translation. 

Danny grinned. “Oh, she knows where he is. Now that she’s got us, she’s gonna fuck him up.”

Jordon took some bandages out of his bag. “Well, we could use the help. If this guy still has an army of dragons-”

“And undead zombie soldiers,” Dylan added. 

“Then we’re not going to have a chance against him,” Jordon finished. He tied the bandages in place around the dragon’s head. “That should stay for now.”

Jorel flicked a flower petal out of his hair. “Can you tell us where he is?”

The dragon pushed herself up and took a deep breath. She raised her nose and sniffed at the air. 

George started towards Monarch as she walked through the flowers. “Get on the dragons.”

Monarch lowered his head and George hopped onto his neck. Jorel scooped Tiger off the ground and followed him. 

Jorel kept his eyes on the dragon as she took off into the sky. Dylan and Grenade jumped onto Monarch, and they launched off the ground to follow her. 

Jorel stared down at the ground as they rose above it. “I feel weird.”

Dylan put a hand on his shoulder. “Maybe you’re dragon-sick. I mean, heights aren’t your thing, and all the flying might-”

“No,” Jorel interrupted. He plucked a stray flower petal off his pants and flicked it into the wind. “That’s not it. It’s something else.”

“The magic from the Plains of Everywhere might finally be getting to you?”

Jorel shook his head. “No. It’s not nausea, and I don’t feel like I’m gonna start laughing any time soon.” He crossed his arms over his stomach and hunched his shoulders. “I... I don’t know what it is.”

Dylan furrowed his brow. “You think you’re gonna be okay?”

“Yeah. I’ll be fine.” 

Dylan shrugged. “Okay. Let me know if you need anything, homie.” He squeezed Jorel’s shoulder before making his way toward Monarch’s tail. 

Tiger poked her head out of Jorel’s cloak and looked at him with wide eyes. Jorel sighed. “Look, I can’t explain it. I just feel... bad. I’m fine though. Don’t worry.”

Tiger nudged him with her nose and grunted. Jorel raised an eyebrow. “You still think this is about that nightmare?”

Tiger shrugged. “Listen, I don’t even remember it. It’s fine.” He looked up at the dragon flying ahead of them. “Besides, we’ve got bigger problems right now.”

Tiger huffed and rolled her eyes, but she disappeared back into his cloak. 

He kept his arms around himself as he stared after the dragon. An odd feeling had settled over him like a shroud. It made him want to close his eyes and cover his ears and just... not exist anymore. Every sound seemed to boom like thunder in his ears. 

Jorel walked up to George and sat down. He wanted to say something, but talking would only cause more noise that he didn’t want to hear. 

George glanced back at Jorel. “You okay?”

Jorel just shrugged. A flower petal was stuck to his cloak, but he didn’t bother wiping it off. 

George studied him for a moment before turning back to the front. “It’s not the heights,” he said quietly. “I don’t feel great either. I don’t know what it is.” He swiped a flower petal off his shirt. “I hope it stops before we find this guy, though.”

Jorel nodded, and they both fell silent. 

The blind dragon ahead of them slowed and stopped. She sniffed at the air. Viral settled in the flowers below and George guided Monarch down next to him. 

“Did you find him?” Jordon called. 

The dragon squawked and kept sniffing. She set down on the ground and snuffled through the flowers. 

The others slid off their dragons’ backs. “Is he here?” Dylan asked. 

Danny followed Lion as she trotted up to the dragon. “I don’t see him.”

Jordon walked toward the dragon. She turned to look in the direction of his footsteps. “Are you sure this is where he is?”

The dragon turned in a circle, sniffing at the air. Then she sat down and whined. 

“Trail’s gone cold,” Danny translated. “This is where he was last.” The dragon pawed at her face and Danny’s eyes widened. “And where he wrecked her eyes, apparently.”

Dylan glanced around the field, trying to spot anything amongst the black flowers, but then his gaze settled on Jorel. He stood close to Monarch, clutching his cloak around himself. He’d put up his hood and squeezed his eyes shut. A flower petal was stuck in his hair. Tiger was curled around his torso and staring at him with concern. 

Dylan made his way over to Jorel. “Hey, man. You sure you’re okay?” 

Jorel jumped at the sound of Dylan’s voice. His eyes shot open. He blinked at the question, but he managed a nod. 

Dylan furrowed his brow. “You sure?”

“I’m fine,” Jorel said. His voice was quiet. 

Dylan nodded and stepped away. “Alright then. I’m here if you need anything.”

He walked back to the others. Monarch lied down in the field so that Jorel and Tiger were in the crook between his arm and chest. _George, I want to adopt a human._

George looked back at Monarch. He rolled his eyes. “No, you can’t adopt Jorel.”

 _George, look at him. He is a baby, and he is anxious. He needs protecting._

“He can protect himself just fine.”

 _Not right now he can’t._ He lowered his head to look at George. _And neither can you, it seems. Look at yourself. You aren’t well._

George hasn’t realized that his shoulders were tensed. He forced himself to relax. “I’m fine. Just a little on edge.”

Monarch raised his head again. _It’s this place. It’s like the Plains of Everywhere, but it has the opposite effect. It’s making you feel unwell._

“Maybe. Let’s just focus on finding the dragon rider for now.”

Danny flipped through his book as the others wandered the field. “I’m trying to figure out why this place is so dangerous, but nowhere in here says anything about it. I mean-” He looked toward Jorel. “It’s definitely doing something, but I wouldn’t say that’s dangerous.”

“Maybe we should just go,” Dylan suggested. “Jay’s not feeling good, and the rider’s not-”

He was cut off when a dragon swooped down from the sky and shot towards him. He dived to the ground. It soared over his head and skidded to a stop when it hit the field. Snarling, it whirled around and bared its teeth at the dragons and their companions. 

The blind dragon screeched in alarm as two more dragons thudded to the ground. Viral growled and stepped in front of her. 

Dylan flicked his daggers into his hands. “What’s going on?”

Danny shoved his book back into his bag. “I don’t know!”

More dragons shot down from the clouds. One the size of Viral landed right in front of them. Its white scales glittered in the setting sun. Its pale eyes glared down at them, and George unsheathed his sword when he spotted a person standing between two of the ridges on the dragon’s neck. 

“I can’t believe you survived!” the dragon rider shouted. “I thought those soldiers would have been enough to take you out.” He turned his attention to the blind dragon on the ground. “Dove, look! I’ve finally found a dragon who listens! I barely need reins for him. No blindfold either!”

The blind dragon growled, but it faded into a whine. She seemed unsure of whether she should fight him or fly away.

George glanced back at Jorel to make sure he was okay. Clinging to Jorel’s legs were dozens of black flower petals. The wind kicked up a few petals, and every time one touched him, it stuck to him like glue. George glanced down at himself and saw a layer of petals covering his boots and making their way up his legs. A few clung to the end of his cloak. 

“George?”

George jumped at the sound. Jordon stared at him with concern in his eyes. “You okay?”

George managed a nod. He took a step backward, but he tripped and fell on his back in the field. Flower petals flew up around him. He scrambled to his feet. One stuck to his face and he tried to wipe it off. It didn’t budge. 

The dragon rider’s voice boomed in his ears. “Oh dear, are we not feeling well? Something wrong, Ragan? What about you, Decker? You okay over there?”

Dylan stared worriedly at George and Jorel. Jorel had covered his ears and closed his eyes again. Black petals blew through the breeze and stuck to his body. George’s breathing had quickened, and his gaze flickered constantly from the rider to the flowers to the blind dragon. He seemed frantic and panicky as petals blew through the wind and glued themselves to him.

Danny scratched at a flower petal on his hand. “I don’t feel so good.”

“Me neither,” Jordon muttered. A petal blew up from the field and stuck to his cloak. It almost blended in with the dark grey fabric. 

Dylan got the feeling the rider was grinning beneath the cloth on his face. “Looks like Murillo and Terrell are having issues, too. You know, I’ve never seen what happens when the field consumes a person. This is going to be interesting.”

Dylan’s eyes widened. “Consumes?”

Lion squeaked in alarm and nudged Danny’s hand. She licked at it, trying to get the flower petal off. 

Viral shifted and positioned himself between Jordon and the rider. The blind dragon bounded up next to him and growled. 

Grenade ran over to Dylan and sniffed at him, searching for flower petals. Dylan looked down at himself and saw no trace of any clingy petals. 

The rider leaned against one of the ridges on his dragon. “Looks like everyone’s down for the count. Except you, Alvarez.” He spread his hands. “So what are you gonna do? Fight me, die, and let your friends slowly break down and flutter away in the wind? Or will you be smart and leave while you still can?”

Dylan watched as more dragons swooped down from the sky and landed in the field. Grenade bared his teeth and growled.

George backed into Monarch. His sword had fallen from his hand and was lost somewhere in the flowers. Jordon swatted the petals that flew his way, but they just stuck to his fingers. Lion had spread her wings in an attempt to shield Danny. Tiger snapped at the petals that flew towards Jorel, but she only managed to catch a few. His eyes were still screwed shut. 

More dragons surrounded them. Dylan looked from his friends to the dragons to the rider. The rider did nothing, just stared at Dylan behind the empty lenses of his goggles. 

Dylan scowled. “Fuck you,” he spat. His daggers disappeared into his sleeves and he started towards Lion and Danny. 

“I was almost hoping you’d fight me,” the rider called down from his dragon. “You would have been an interesting opponent!”

“Yeah, yeah, shut the fuck up,” Dylan said. He brushed Lion’s wing aside to look at Danny. He was wiping at a bunch of petals that had arranged themselves in the crude shape of a cross over his left eye. “You and Jordon get on Viral. I’ll take care of the other two.”

Danny startled when he heard Dylan’s voice, but he nodded. “Okay.”

As Dylan made his way over to George, the dragon rider chuckled. “For what it’s worth, I think you’re making a smart decision!”

A dagger shot into Dylan’s hand and he pointed it at the rider. “Shut the fuck up! I can still fight you!”

“But you won’t!”

Dylan glanced at Grenade as he passed. “Get her onto Monarch,” he said, pointing to the blind dragon. 

Grenade nodded and ran off toward the dragon. Dylan approached George and slowed his pace. “Hey man,” he said softly. 

George’s gaze shot up to Dylan. He scooped up George’s sword and held it out to him. “I know you’re not feeling great, but we need to get out of here. Do you think you can still ride Monarch?”

George hesitated, but he grabbed the blade and nodded. He clutched his cloak around his tense shoulders as he waded through the flowers towards Monarch’s neck. 

Grenade hopped up onto Monarch’s back and screeched. The blind dragon turned in the direction of his voice and leaped after him as Dylan walked over to Jorel. 

The rider stared at Viral as he took off into the sky. “A damn shame, really,” he shouted. “Your dragons really could have been an asset to me if you weren’t holding them back.”

Dylan stared after Viral and made a mental note of what direction he was going. “You can monologue later. I’m busy.”

Tiger looked up at Dylan and whined as he approached. He patted her on the head. “He’ll be fine,” he reassured her. 

Dylan turned his attention to Jorel. He kept his ears covered as dozens of black petals flew around him. They covered the smoking end of his cloak, stifling the glowing embers in the fabric. 

Dylan figured that Jorel couldn’t hear him, so he gently placed a hand on his arm and guided him toward Monarch’s neck. Jorel shuffled along after him. He didn’t uncover his ears or open his eyes, but at least he was cooperating. 

Dylan brought him over to Monarch’s neck and Tiger hopped off his shoulders. Dylan took hold of Jorel’s wrists and gently took his hands away from his ears. “You have to get on Monarch now,” he whispered. “Jump up and George will grab your hands.”

George leaned over the side of Monarch’s neck and reached down. Jorel opened his eyes for a moment and leaped up. George hauled him onto the dragon. Dylan jumped up after him and managed to scrabble onto Monarch’s neck on his own. 

“You know, I would have killed you by now,” the dragon rider shouted, “but I have errands to run and I don’t want to waste any time or energy on you.”

“Haven’t I told you to shut the fuck up already?” Dylan yelled back. He sat behind George on Monarch’s neck and tapped him on the shoulder. He pointed to the sky. “Viral went that way.”

George nodded and took Monarch’s reins. He tugged on them, and Dylan glared down at the dragon rider as they took off into the sky.


	13. City

Dylan stood behind George as they soared through the air. He had no idea where they were going, but they had left behind the larger island of the Swan’s Nest a few minutes ago, and were now flying over one of the smaller islands. The sun had almost fully set by now, and stars had begun to appear in the sky.

He glanced down at Viral to check on the other two. Danny had curled up against Lion with his eyes closed. Jordon sat near Viral’s head and was taking deep breaths as flower petals fluttered away from him. 

George seemed to have relaxed a bit since they left the Black Dahlia Fields. Being up in the air with Monarch must have made him feel better. Flower petals tore themselves away from him and disappeared in the wind. 

Dylan turned to look at Jorel. He still wasn’t doing too well. He’d hugged his knees to his chest and kept his eyes shut. Tiger curled around his torso, licking at his hair in an attempt to comfort him. Barely any flower petals had left his body. 

Dylan glanced at George. “Keep an eye out for a place to set down. We should sleep and go back to the Plains of Everywhere in the morning.”

George nodded. “Okay.” He turned to Dylan and grinned. “You know, you’re actually not that bad of a babysitter.”

Dylan snorted. “Yeah, I’ve had my fair share of caring for wild animals.”

“Hey!”

Dylan walked down Monarch’s back. He stepped past Grenade, who was busy making conversation with the blind dragon they’d rescued. 

Dylan sat next to Jorel. Tiger looked up at him and whined. Dylan scratched her on the head to reassure her. 

Dylan put a hand on Jorel’s shoulder. “You okay, homie?” he asked. He kept his voice quiet. 

Jorel raised his head slightly so Dylan could see his eyes. “Dunno what’s wrong,” he mumbled. 

“That place was fucking with your head, man. Just take a deep breath.”

Jorel’s shoulders rose as he inhaled. He held it for a moment before he let the air leave his lungs. A couple flower petals fluttered off his cloak. 

Dylan plucked a loose petal off Jorel’s shoulder and tossed it into the wind. “You’ll be fine. It’ll take a while to get out of your own head.”

It took Dylan by surprise when Jorel leaned into his side. “I don’t like this,” Jorel muttered. “I feel awful.”

Dylan hesitated, but he gently put an arm around Jorel’s shoulders. “It’ll be okay. Just... chill for a bit.”

Jorel took another deep breath. More flower petals blew away in the wind and his shoulders relaxed. 

Maybe getting Jorel talking would help him feel better. “Why don’t you tell me about Tiger?” Dylan asked. “How’d you two meet?”

Jorel hesitated, but after a moment, he spoke. “It was... a few months after Aron left, I think. I was still a kid, a teenager, so it was hard to get by on my own. One day, in the winter, I left the town to get some firewood. I came back into the house and...” He put a hand on Tiger’s head. “A tiny dragon baby was curled up in my bed on the floor. She was shivering. I took one look at her and knew she wouldn’t survive the winter.”

“So you took her in?”

Jorel nodded. “She was so small then, she could fit in my hands. I made a fire and wrapped her up in my blanket and my cloak so she’d get warm. Spent the next few hours giving her different things to see what she would eat. Don’t think I left the house for a few days after that. I was too busy trying to make sure she would survive.”

Dylan brushed a couple petals off Jorel’s back. “Were you worried when you started taking care of her?”

“Absolutely. The only times I’d ever seen dragons before were during executions, and even then, I never stuck around to watch them. Taking care of one without knowing if she would live through the winter was terrifying.” He scratched Tiger behind the horns. “She’s the light of my life. I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to her.”

Tiger purred in response as Jorel rested his head on Dylan’s shoulder. “I’m still afraid that something’s going to happen to her,” Jorel mumbled.

“I’m sure she’ll be fine,” Dylan said.

Tiger untangled herself from Jorel’s torso and crawled across his shoulders. She draped herself across the two of them and rested her head on Dylan’s chest. She closed her eyes, and it didn’t take long for the quiet sound of snoring to rumble in her throat. 

Dylan sighed. Now he couldn’t leave. It was practically illegal to move when a person had a sleeping animal on them, and to Dylan, dragons were no exception. He’d be stuck here until Tiger woke up. 

He turned to Jorel to let him know that his dragon was asleep, but Jorel’s eyes were closed. 

“And now I have two animals sleeping on me,” Dylan murmured to himself. “Wonderful.”

He shifted in his seat to get comfortable. He had a feeling he’d be sitting here for a while. 

* * *

Jorel woke to someone shaking his shoulders. 

“Get up, homie,” said a quiet voice. “We found a place to crash.”

Jorel opened his eyes. The sky was dark and dotted with stars. He shifted and realized that he was leaning against someone. 

He looked up. Dylan had an arm around him, and Tiger was stretched across their shoulders. She blinked and raised her head off Dylan’s chest. 

Jorel pushed himself up and felt Dylan’s arm leave his shoulders. Tiger scampered over to Jorel and disappeared into his cloak as he stood up. 

He walked forward on Monarch’s back. “Where are we?”

“Over the little swan, I think,” Dylan answered. “The smallest island on the map. Danny hasn’t been navigating, but we can ask him when we set down.”

“Cool.” Jorel brushed a few stray flower petals off his shirt and stared out at the sky as they descended. 

Dylan walked up next to him. “You feeling better?”

Jorel nodded. 

There was a moment of silence. “Well, just let me know if you need-”

“I’m good for now.” Jorel started towards Monarch’s head. He passed by Grenade and the blind dragon. 

Monarch touched down on the ground. Viral landed beside him, and Jordon hopped off his back. He landed in the tall grass and pointed ahead of them. “Is that where we’re staying?”

George slid off Monarch’s back. “Yeah. Figured Danny might like it here.”

“Why?” Danny asked as he and Lion followed Jordon down. “It just looks like- oh.”

Jorel jumped down so he could look around. In front of them was an old gravel road covered in ice. On either side of the street were rows of old, ruined houses. The roofs had collapsed into wooden beams on the ground, and everything was covered in a thick layer of frost. 

“This has to be from a thousand years ago,” Jordon said. 

“Then why is it not decomposed?” Dylan asked. 

Danny dug into his bag and grabbed his book. “Maybe the ice preserved it. As long as it doesn’t melt, the wood won’t get wet and erode.” He flipped through his book. “I think this is the Burned Out City. It’s on the smallest island.”

Jordon shrugged. “Good enough for me. Let’s start a fire.”

* * *

Tiger stared into the green flames as Jorel walked up with an armful of wood. He gently nudged her aside with his foot. “You’ll burn your nose.”

Danny squinted at his book. “It’s not very bright,” he muttered. 

“The wood wouldn’t burn otherwise,” Dylan pointed out. He leaned against Grenade. “Maybe when it dries more Viral can make a brighter one.”

Jorel placed the wood in the fire. “Isn’t Lion a light dragon? Just use her breath.” He sat down right in front of the fire, his back to Dylan. 

“Yeah, but she can’t just constantly-” He paused. “Actually, I might have packed my lantern in my bag.” He set down his book and rummaged through his bag. 

Jordon sharpened a stick with one of Dylan’s daggers. He and Viral has gone out hunting while the others found a place to make a fire. They’d even found a bunch of wild fruits and vegetables for Jorel. “As long as it’s hot enough to cook with, I don’t care how bright it is.” He jabbed a piece of meat with the skewer. “By the way, Viral and I found a few more dragon eggs in one of the buildings. We didn’t move them because we didn’t want to disturb them, but Jorel should have a look to see if he can make some nests.”

Jorel nodded as he stabbed a bunch of vegetables onto his spear. “I’ll check it out later. Where are we headed tomorrow?”

“Back to the Plains of Everywhere,” Jordon said. He held out a skewer of meat and vegetables to George. “Bone apple tea.”

“Dude, it’s bon appetite,” Jorel corrected.

“I still don’t care,” Jordon said as he held another skewer over the fire.

Danny squinted at the sky. “Hang on.” He pointed up. “Something’s coming.”

The others followed his gaze. Up in the sky, something glittered in the dim light of the fire as it swooped down towards them. Jorel kept a hand on one of his axes as it descended. 

“Jorel Decker!”

Jorel sighed when he heard the familiar voice. “Hi, Aron.”

Nine landed in the street and Aron hopped off his back. He marched toward them, his shiny dragon trotting along behind him. 

“What the fuck were you doing in the Black Dahlia Fields?” Aron demanded. He stopped near the fire and crossed his arms. “That was one of the places I specifically told you _not_ to go!”

“The dragon rider went there,” Jorel said. “We had to follow him.”

“How did you know we went to the fields?” George asked. 

Aron rolled his eyes. “I went to the Plains of Everywhere to figure out where you went. I saw you went to the Black Dahlia Fields and we booked it there as fast as we could. We flew over the whole damn thing trying to find you, but when we didn’t see you, we went back to the Plains to see if you survived.”

“Well, we’re fine now,” Jorel said. 

Aron sighed. “Wherever you guys go next, I’m going with you. You need a babysitter.”

“I mean, I’d say I’m a pretty good babysitter,” Dylan said. 

Nine followed Aron as he walked up to the fire. “You need someone who knows this place so you don’t get yourselves killed.” He sat down near George. “This whole place is a death trap, honestly.”

Jorel moved backwards so he was sitting next to Aron. “We already knew the fields were dangerous. We just have to find this guy so he doesn’t kill every dragon in the world.”

Aron’s eyes widened. “ _That’s_ what he’s doing? I thought he was just going for world domination or something!”

Jorel shifted so his back was facing Dylan. “Yeah. The guy’s an asshole.”

“And we’re going to take him down,” George said. “He’s horrible to his dragons.”

Jorel glanced at the blind dragon. She had curled up next to Grenade and was snoring away. Her eyes twitched under the bandages. 

Jorel rested his chin on his hand as he held his spear of vegetables over the fire. He watched Nine sit down next to Aron out of the corner of his eye. 

Jordon furrowed his brow as he passed a skewer of meat and vegetables to Danny. “Aron, how well do you know this place?”

Aron shrugged. “Pretty well. Why?”

“Maybe we shouldn’t risk going back to the Plains of Everywhere,” Jordon said. He passed another skewer to Danny. “Pass this to Dylan.”

As Danny held one of the skewers out to Dylan, Aron raised an eyebrow at him. “How badly were you guys affected by the Plains?”

George gestured to Dylan, Danny, and Jordon with his skewer. “Those three couldn’t get out of there without me and Jay.”

“Don’t call me that,” Jorel said. 

Aron rolled his eyes again. “You shouldn’t spend too much time in the Plains. That place can be dangerous if you don’t use your time wisely.”

“I lost it almost immediately when we went there,” Jordon said. “I think it would be better if we didn’t go back, so maybe...” He pointed to Aron with a skewer. “You can be our tour guide.”

Aron blinked. “Not sure what you mean.”

“I mean, you can show us where the rider might be,” Jordon said. “He keeps saying he’s ‘running errands’, but he’s definitely trying to hide from us while he does... whatever it is he’s doing.” He leaned toward Aron. “If you had to hide anywhere in the entire Swan’s Nest- literally _anywhere_ \- where would it be?”

Five pairs of human eyes and five more dragon ones fixated on Aron. He furrowed his brow and stared into the green flames. “Well... When I was at the Plains trying to figure out where you guys went, I may have asked it to show me the dragon rider you were chasing. I hate to say it, but...” He took a deep breath. “He’s in the Grove of Loss. It’s a good hiding place. It’s always dark there, so there’s no chance of anyone finding him. It’s dangerous as hell, though, more so than any other place in the Swan’s Nest, even the Black Dahlia Fields. You can’t go there.”

George shrugged and tossed his empty skewer onto the ground. “Too late. That’s where we’re going.”

Aron sighed. “You’re going to die.”

“Then we’ll die trying to save the world,” Dylan said. 

Aron was silent for a moment. “You guys are all stupid,” he sighed. “I’m coming with you. You need someone to make sure you don’t die.”

Tiger snapped at a couple bugs on the ground as Jorel finished off the food on his spear. “We’ve got no other choice. We have to find the guy.”

Aron shook his head. “God, you guys are dumb.”

“Yeah, most people say that about me,” Jordon said. He finished off his skewer and stood up. “I’m gonna find a place to wash up. See you in the morning.”

As Viral and his companion wandered off into the street, Danny shut his book and put it in his bag. “We should probably clean all this blood off us, too.” He and Lion pushed themselves to their feet. “Good night.”

George put a hand on Monarch’s side. “We’re gonna fly around for a bit before we go to sleep. Don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone.”

He stood up and climbed onto Monarch’s neck. He reached down to grab the reins. He tugged on them and Monarch spread his wings, sending a gust of wind over them. The fire flickered, but it held as Monarch launched into the sky. 

Aron stared after Monarch as he flew away. “Those two don’t seem as dangerous as the legends make them sound.”

Jorel shrugged. “Guess not.”

He kept his gaze on Aron as he leaned against Nine. Aron glanced at Jorel. “Hey, maybe you should find a place to sleep,” he suggested. “You look tired.”

Jorel nodded. “Yeah, I think I should. It’s been a long day.” He stuck his spear in the ground and pushed himself up. “Besides, Jordon said something about finding some dragon eggs in one of the houses. We should probably take a look.” He looked down. “Tiger?”

Tiger looked up at him with a moth wing sticking out between her teeth. She slurped it into her mouth and leaped onto his shoulders. He kept glancing back at Aron as he walked down the street. 

Dylan stared after him. “Well, Grenade and I should probably-”

Aron held up a hand. “Wait. I wanna talk to you for a second.”

Dylan blinked. “About what?”

Aron turned in his seat so he was facing Dylan. “What the fuck happened in the Black Dahlia Fields?”

Dylan raise an eyebrow. “Why?”

Aron pointed at Jorel’s fading silhouette. “Because no way does that guy up and trust some random dude he’s known for- what, a day?”

“Two days, actually,” Dylan corrected. 

“Whatever.” Aron leaned forward. “Just tell me what happened there.”

Dylan looked at Grenade. Grenade shrugged and rested his head on the blind dragon’s back. 

Dylan sighed. “Well, we showed up, and this dragon-” he gestured to the blind dragon “-started leading us toward the rider. Jorel wasn’t feeling good so I asked if he was okay.”

Aron nodded. “So the Fields were getting to him.”

“Yeah, I think so. He was covered in flower petals. We landed and he looked like he was getting worse, so I asked if he was okay again. Then the dragon rider showed up. George wasn’t doing well either, and Danny and Jordon were getting affected, too. The rider was being an asshole, so I helped everyone get out of there.”

Aron turned his head and stared into the fire. “Alright. What about after? Was Jorel okay?”

Dylan scratched the back of his neck. “Not sure. I mean, he definitely didn’t seem okay. I checked to see if he was alright, and he just leaned on me-”

“Wait, wait, wait!” Aron interrupted. “He initiated physical contact? Like, willingly?”

Dylan shrugged. “Yeah. He went to sleep after a bit-”

“And he _slept_ near you?” Aron gaped at him. “Dude, he’s basically claimed you as family at this point!”

Dylan blinked. “Then why has he been ignoring me ever since he woke up?”

“He wasn’t ignoring you, man. He kept his back to you the whole time. That means he trusts you to watch out for him.” He shook his head in disbelief. “He didn’t let me out of his sight until we’d known each other for three years, and he didn’t sleep around me until maybe two years before I disappeared. He totally doesn’t trust me now, though. He watched me the whole time. He moved backwards just so I wasn’t sitting behind him.” He sighed. “It’s nice to see that he’s found someone he trusts.”

Dylan gazed into the flames, processing this information. “So, he’s like a cat?”

“Yeah, pretty much.”

Dylan nodded. “Cool.”

“Just stick close to him. He doesn’t seem comfortable with the others yet. Having someone around that he can depend on makes him feel safer.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” He looked around at the ruined buildings. “Do you know what happened here?”

“Yeah. People built this a thousand years ago after killing all the dragons in the area. The whole place was burned down when a few fire dragons flew all the way from the Land of the Dead and burned it to a crisp. This was the humans’ last line of defence against the dragons here, but it was destroyed in a matter of minutes.”

“Damn.” Dylan gazed at the sky. “You know, there’s... something else that’s been bothering me.”

“What is it?”

“We’ve barely seen any dragons here. We only saw one. The rest were part of the dragon rider’s army or whatever.”

Aron rested his chin on his hand and pet Nine with the other. “Yeah, I’ve noticed. I keep finding abandoned dragon eggs everywhere with no parents in sight. We made nests for the ones you guys found. The hatchlings were all snow dragons, so we took them to the Six Hell Raisers. We’ll have to raise them, of course, but they should be fine for the night. Barely saw any dragons there, either, which was weird. Snow dragons usually flock to that place.”

Dylan absently scratched at the healed cuts on his face as he stared into the fire. “I bet it has something to do with the dragon rider.”

Aron nodded. “Maybe.” He pet Nine on the head. “Sorry I’m not helping with this whole hero business. I’ve just never really been much of a fighter. I’m not really the hero type, y’know?”

“Yeah, I get it.” Dylan leaned back against Grenade. “You should go sleep if you’re coming with us tomorrow. You’re gonna need the rest.”

Aron snorted. “You’re right. I get the feeling you guys are annoying to deal with.” He pushed himself to his feet. “I’ll see you in the morning then.”

He started down the frost-covered street. Nine trotted along behind him. Dylan stared after the pair, wondering what to think of them. Aron seemed nice, and Nine seemed to like him well enough. He was pretty sure that no sane dragon would accompany someone who wanted to destroy all of dragonkind.

Dylan shifted in his seat so he could lay down more comfortably, but he stopped when he saw something glint on the ground from the dim light of the fire. He leaned forward and squinted.

A pair of goggles similar to the dragon rider’s sat on the ground right where Aron had been sitting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This will be the last Tuesday update. School started for me today, so my writing will be a bit slower. Updates will be on Saturdays or Sundays from now on.


	14. The Loss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just a quick warning: since I haven't written anything bloody in a while, I kind of took that out on this chapter. If you're uncomfortable with that, I would advise skipping this chapter.

Jorel had found the house Jordon had mentioned earlier. Five dragon eggs sat in a cluster on the ground among old debris. There was no trace of any parents in sight, so he got to work making nests for them. They were all snow dragons, so he and Tiger wandered around to find snow banks for them to nest in.

After that, they returned to the house and decided to sleep. It was chilly throughout the whole city, but Tiger curled up with him and they managed to sleep for a few hours.

Jorel woke up just as sunlight began pouring in through the broken roof. He blinked as his eyes adjusted to the light. Tiger was wrapped around him with her head resting on his shoulder. He tapped one of her horns and she grunted.

“Wake up,” he whispered. “We have to go.”

She groaned and opened one eye. Jorel pushed himself to his feet. He started toward the door, stepping over debris and piles of icy dirt along the way.

Someone appeared in the doorway. Jorel jumped in surprise, but he relaxed when he saw who it was.

“Morning,” Dylan said.

Jorel nodded in greeting as he walked toward the door. “Hey. How’d you sleep?”

Dylan backed out of the doorway to let Jorel pass. “Not bad, I guess. Just-” He held out a hand to stop Jorel from going any further. “I found something last night.”

Jorel tilted his head, intrigued. “What is it?”

Dylan glanced up and down the street to make sure no one was around before reaching into his cloak. He pulled his hand out and held it out to Jorel.

In his palm was a pair of goggles. Jorel thought they were Jordon’s for a moment, but the serious look on Dylan’s face told him otherwise.

“Whose are those?” Jorel asked.

“Aron’s,” Dylan answered. “He dropped them yesterday.”

Jorel reached out and took the goggles. “You think this means-?”

“That he’s the dragon rider?” Dylan finished. “I don’t know. I mean, he might just use them the same way Jordon uses his. But you know him best. Do you think he would do something like this?”

Jorel turned the goggles over in his hands. “Honestly? I don’t know anymore. I used to think I could trust him with my life, but then he just left without telling me and...” He shook his head and handed the goggles back to Dylan. “It’s a possibility.”

Dylan shoved the goggles back in his cloak. “So should we be cautious, at least?”

“Yeah. I don’t know him that well anymore. I can’t make any judgements right now.”

“Alright.” He started down the street and Jorel followed him. “Well, the others are waiting at the fire. We’ve got leftover fruits and veggies for breakfast.”

“Sweet.”

They approached the fire they’d made last night. Grenade and Dylan must have kept it running for a while into the night, because parts of it still flickered with light green embers.

The others stood around the remains of the fire. George munched on an apple. He picked up a carrot from Jordon’s bag and tossed it into Monarch’s mouth. Jordon had dried some meat from the night before and was packing it into his bag. His goggles sat crooked on his head. Danny was flipping through his book and eating an orange as Lion devoured radishes from their supply. Grenade and the blind dragon were still curled up on the ground, and Aron stood next to them with Nine. He kept his gaze directed toward the ground as Jorel and Dylan approached the group.

George grabbed an apple from the pile next to Jordon and tossed it to Jorel. “Breakfast.”

Jorel caught it. “Thanks.”

“So,” Jordon said, still wrapping dried meat in cloths from his bag and packing them away. “Aron, you know how to get to the Grove of Loss?”

Aron hesitated. He had an apple in his hands, but he hadn’t taken a single bite. “Yes,” he said finally. “I do. But I still think we shouldn’t go there. It’s too dangerous. Maybe we should go somewhere else. The Woods of Pain are lovely this time of year.”

Jordon took a piece of meat and tossed it into Viral’s mouth. “Too late, man. We’ve made up our minds.”

George finished his apple. Lion walked up to him and sniffed at the core. He held it out and she took it in her mouth. “Well, I’m ready. You guys can eat on the way.”

Lion snatched Danny’s orange peel from his hand as he shut his book with the other. “Let’s roll.”

* * *

Jorel stood on Monarch’s back as they soared through the air. Dylan stood next to him. Grenade and the blind dragon seemed to have bonded since they rescued her, because they were locked in conversation.

Jorel furrowed his brow as he watched the two dragons talk. “Her name was Dove, right?”

“That’s what the rider called her,” Dylan said.

Jorel turned to the sky ahead of them. Aron and Nine had chosen not to ride on Monarch and were flying in front to lead them. Danny and Jordon followed behind him on Viral, and Monarch brought up the rear.

“So what do you want to do about Aron?” Dylan asked quietly.

Jorel hesitated. He found it difficult to trust Aron for a multitude of reasons. Aron disappeared without telling Jorel where he was going, he led them all into the Undead Chasm and straight into a battle, and now he wanted them to go into one of the most dangerous places in the whole world. It all seemed really suspicious.

But he wasn’t sure. Aron had been his friend for years. They watched out for each other when they lived on the streets. Would he really turn his back on Jorel now?

“I don’t know,” Jorel answered finally. “Let’s just keep an eye on him for now.”

Dylan nodded. They hadn’t told the others about finding Aron’s goggles yet. They figured they’d wait until they could be sure what side Aron was on.

“I think we’re almost there!” George called out to the two of them.

Jorel looked over the side of Monarch. They had flown over to the second smallest island in the Swan’s Nest, and most of the land had been mountains until now. The mountains faded into hills dotted with trees, but just ahead was a large forest. Dark clouds hovered above the trees, casting shadows across the entire wood.

Monarch dived down after Viral and Nine, and Jorel’s stomach dropped. He automatically clung to Dylan’s arm to keep himself from falling.

The dragons settled in the grass and Jorel took a deep breath. He let go of Dylan. “Sorry.”

Dylan shrugged as the two of them made their way to Monarch’s head. “It’s fine.” They approached Dove and Grenade and Dylan knelt next to them. “Hey, we’re here.”

Grenade huffed, but he pushed himself to his feet. Dove stood up as well, and she followed Dylan across Monarch’s back.

George hopped off Monarch and stared up at the trees. “Damn. Those are taller than you.”

Monarch raised his head and stretched his neck. When he found he couldn’t see over the tops of the trees, he growled and lowered his head again.

Jordon, Danny, and Lion climbed off Viral. “So this is the Grove of Loss?” Jordon asked.

“Looks dark,” Danny mumbled, staring into the pitch black shadows in the forest.

Aron nodded. “Yeah. When we go in, we all have to stick together. It’s easy to get lost, even when you have a light.”

Jorel stepped forward and peered into the woods. Dark mist curled out of the shadows and wafted through the frosty grass. Jorel wasn’t even sure if they’d be able to see if they did have a light.

“Here.” Dylan grabbed a few thick branches off the ground. “We can make torches.”

“They’re not going to be very bright if Grenade makes the fire,” Danny pointed out.

“But they’ll burn out faster if we just use Viral,” Jordon said. “I’d rather have a dim light than only be able to see for five minutes.”

Danny dug around in his bag. “Well, I’m using my lantern.”

Dylan held the branches up to Grenade. Grenade opened his mouth and breathed green mist over the wood. Dylan held the sticks up higher, and Viral lowered his head. A thin plume of flame engulfed the tops of the branches, and when Dylan lowered the sticks, each one blazed with green flames.

He passed the torches around as Lion blew a stream of glowing mist into Danny’s lantern. “Lion and I can take the lead,” he offered. “We’ll have the brightest light anyway.”

“That might be best,” Aron said. He took a torch from Dylan. “If anyone gets lost, yell and we’ll all come find you.”

Tiger poked her head out of Jorel’s cloak and sniffed at his torch. “Hope Monarch doesn’t accidentally step on any of us in there,” he muttered.

Monarch grunted. “He’ll be careful,” George translated.

Aron took a deep breath. “Okay. Let’s go then.” He turned to walk into the forest, but he paused. “One more thing- don’t listen to any disembodied voices you might hear in there.”

Jorel blinked as Aron disappeared into the woods. “What?”

Danny and Lion stepped into the trees and were swallowed up by the darkness. Jordon and Viral followed them.

“Are we seriously not going to address that?” Jorel asked. “He said ‘disembodied voices’. Does that concern _nobody_ else?”

Dylan clapped him on the shoulder as he, Dove, and Grenade walked toward the forest. “Come on, homie. We’ll be fine.”

Jorel glanced behind him at George. George just shrugged.

Jorel shook his head and followed Dylan to the woods. He gazed up at the towering shadows among the trees. Tiger whimpered and tightened around his shoulders as he approached.

He felt rather than saw the shadows close around him. The air had been cold before, but now it seeped into his bones, chilling him from the inside out. The freezing darkness snatched the air from his lungs, leaving him breathless. He could hardly see his torch through the shadows, but his eyes adjusted quickly and the flickering green flames came into sight.

He heard Monarch’s heavy footsteps behind him, shaking the ground beneath his feet. He spotted Aron, Jordon, and Dylan with their own torches. Danny’s bright yellow lantern bobbed far ahead of him. Dylan almost seemed to blend in with the shadows around them. The only thing Jorel could see of him was his hand around the torch.

“So where do you think the rider is?” Jordon asked.

“My guess is the middle of the grove,” Aron answered.

“Then why didn’t we just swoop right through the clouds?” Dylan asked. “That would have been quicker than walking through the whole forest.”

“Because we would have died,” Aron said. “The trees around the edge are weird enough with how tall they are. The ones in the middle are worse. They’re almost... alive. They change every time. It’s dangerous to just fly straight in, especially for dragons as big as yours. They could crash into a huge trunk, get stabbed by a sharp branch, get strangled by vines- the possibilities are endless. It’s safer to go on foot.”

“You talk like you’ve been here a lot before,” George said.

“I have a couple times,” Aron admitted, “just out of curiosity. But other dragon companions who have fled Sunset have flown directly in and never come out. I never get as far as the middle. I’ve only gotten about halfway there.”

They fell silent and kept walking. It was so quiet, Jorel could hear everyone else’s breathing. Every footstep was deafening. His own heartbeat pounded in his ears.

He felt a sudden sharp pain on the back of his hand and hissed. George’s footsteps got louder, and then his voice was right next to Jorel. “What’s wrong?”

“My hand,” Jorel mumbled. He held it up in the light. Blood leaked from a cut spanning the back of his hand. It looked almost black in the green light.

George leaned in to examine it. “What did you do?”

“Nothing,” Jorel said. “Maybe it was a sharp twig?”

George furrowed his brow. “Yeah, maybe. Just... try not to get hurt. I have a bad feeling about this.”

Jorel nodded. He looked ahead at the other torches bobbing in the darkness. He located Dylan and quickly brushed past Dove and Grenade to walk next to him.

“You okay?” Dylan asked.

“More or less,” Jorel answered. He lowered his voice and spoke again. “I’m gonna go up and talk to Aron. I need to know if he’s really trying to help us or not.”

Jorel could barely see Dylan in the darkness due to his pitch black cloak, but he felt Dylan’s hand pat his shoulder. “Okay. Good luck.”

Jorel clenched his torch in his hand as he walked past Viral. Blood leaked from the cut on his other hand and dribbled onto the ground. He wiped it on his cloak, where it blended into the red liquid running from the shoulders of his cape. The embers in the fabric sizzled as the liquid ran over them.

He spotted Aron’s torch and jogged up to him. The green flames flickered weakly, but it ricocheted off Nine’s crystal hide, casting light all around Aron. Danny walked ahead with his lantern. The yellow light was much brighter than the torches, and Danny’s cloak and Lion’s fur only made it shine brighter.

Still, despite all the light at the front of the group, the darkness around them crowded in, threatening to extinguish their lights. Shadows clouded his vision for a moment and he lost sight of Aron. He stopped in his tracks and glanced around frantically. He couldn’t even see his own torch in his hand or the smoking embers in his cloak.

He felt something bump into his back and whirled around in a panic. A green torch came into view, and Jordon stood in front of Jorel with a confused look on his face.

“You okay man?” he asked.

Jorel sighed with relief. “Yeah. I’m fine.”

He hissed when something scratched his wrist. He pulled his sleeve down and stared at a fresh cut in his skin. Tiger leaned forward and licked the blood away.

Jorel backed away, hoping Jordon hadn’t seen. “I’m totally fine. Just a little spooked.”

He turned and made a beeline for Aron. He fell into step next to him. Aron didn’t look at him, just stared ahead as they walked. Jorel tried to ignore the pain in his wrist.

“So...” Jorel began, hoping to start a conversation. “How do you know when things start getting dangerous in here?”

Aron shrugged. “Well, you usually start hearing voices at some point, but that shouldn’t happen until we get about halfway. Sometimes your emotions get all out of whack, too. Just watch out for anything unusual.”

Jorel nodded. “Okay.” He wiped his bloody arm on his cloak. “Just out of curiosity... Why didn’t you tell me you were leaving Sunset?”

Aron’s shoulders tensed. “I thought you wouldn’t understand. I mean, everyone else hated dragons, so why wouldn’t you?” He gestured to Tiger. “I guess I was wrong about that.”

“But you could have at least told me you were leaving,” Jorel protested. “You could have said something instead of disappearing. Even leaving a note would have been fine.”

Aron blinked at him. “Dude, do I _look_ like a noble to you? I can’t fucking read. I couldn’t write you a note if I wanted to.”

“I mean, the old teacher down the road was giving out lessons for free. Why didn’t you ever come with me?”

Aron rolled his eyes. “I was too focused on keeping myself alive to learn shit. Do you know how many times I almost died because you were off doing those fucking lessons? I told you multiple times that you should quit so we could stick together and keep each other alive.” He scoffed. “You were only good for picking pockets. You didn’t actually do anything.”

Jorel felt a red hot ball of anger rise in his gut. “Are you fucking serious? I’m the one who found that old ass house for us to stay in for the winter. Also, who was the one who did all the fucking hunting so you could eat your expensive meat?”

“Where the fuck else are you supposed to get protein from?”

“Uh, nuts and seeds? And there are a shit ton of plants that have more protein than meat. It would have been way less expensive for you to just stick to a vegetarian diet. You could have even eaten eggs and I wouldn’t have complained. It would have been _way_ fucking cheaper.”

“God, this is _exactly_ like the fight we had before I left!” Aron grumbled. “You still think you’re so much better than me just because you can fucking read-”

“I never said that!” Jorel argued. “I just wanted to have at least _some_ education so I might be able to get a decent job and get us off the streets! I was hoping you would support me in that!”

“I would have, but you basically abandoned me so you could go to fucking school! Reading is a thing for nobles, Jorel. Did you really want to become one of them and leave me in the dust?”

“Oh, _I’m_ the one who abandoned _you_? Who left me behind so he could fuck off to another island without even telling me, huh? You left me to fend for myself, and I had no idea if you were even alive!”

“Guys, chill out!” Danny had stopped ahead of them. He and Lion stared at the arguing pair with concern. “You’re both getting a little emotional. We should be focusing on finding the dragon rider right now.”

Aron turned and glared at him. “What, are you his best friend now, Golden Boy? Did he replace me with a fucking noble who doesn’t know shit about what kids on the street have to go through?”

Danny’s eyes narrowed. “I’m not a noble anymore. Everything I had burned. Not that you would know anything about losing the people you love. You left your only friend behind to fend for himself. If I was his best friend, I’d be a better fucking friend than you!”

Aron’s face screwed into a scowl. “I helped protect this dumbass for fifteen years. I kept him alive. All you’ve done so far is read your stupid fucking map so you can drag him into danger with these other lunatics!”

“Leave Danny out of this!” Jorel exploded. “He didn’t do anything wrong!”

Aron glared at Jorel. His gaze flickered from him to Danny. “You _did_ replace me. You fucking replaced me with a _noble_!”

“Maybe I did!” Jorel blurted. “Maybe you were a shitty friend! Maybe I should be glad you left Sunset!”

Silence fell on the three of them. Jorel clenched his teeth, his glare leveled at Aron.

Aron lunged forward and pushed Jorel. Nine and Tiger cried out in unison as Jorel stumbled backward into the darkness. His torch fell from his hand and disappeared in the shadows. Jorel briefly saw Danny’s shocked face framed by the golden light of his hood before his vision went black. He tripped over a tree root and fell on his back, knocking the wind out of his lungs.

Jorel scrambled to his feet, his anger completely gone. He glanced around, looking for any source of light, but nothing presented itself. Tiger curled around his shoulders and whined.

“Dylan!” he shouted. “Danny! Aron!”

Nothing. He took a step in the direction he thought he came from, but he stepped on a rock and slipped. He crashed headfirst into a tree and fell to the ground again.

Tiger whimpered and licked at his face. “I’m fine,” he mumbled. He scrabbled blindly for anything to grab onto, and the back of his bleeding hand hit the tree. He grabbed a branch and pulled himself to his feet.

He felt Tiger lick at his hair. “I’m okay,” he repeated. He couldn’t even see the flaming end of his cloak. The darkness was stifling.

He felt another sharp sting in his other arm. Warm blood trickled down his wrist, and he wiped it on his cloak.

Tiger yelped and huddled into his cape. He put a hand on her side and felt blood.

“We’re gonna be fine,” he assured her. “Just hang in there. We’ll find them.”

That was a lie. There was no way he’d be able to find the others like this. His best bet was to get out of the forest.

But which way did they come in? He’d gotten completely turned around within seconds. He reached out for the tree he just had a hold of, but he stumbled when it didn’t appear beneath his hand.

Pain shot through his arm as another cut appeared across his wrist. He tried to ignore it and started walking. He figured that he could either end up outside the forest, or if he was headed in the opposite direction, he’d be making his way toward the centre of the woods where the others were trying to go.

He moved slow, keeping his arms out in front of him to feel for any trees he might bump into. He made good progress at first, but then a tree seemed to appear right in front of him and he crashed into it.

Tiger whined as he stumbled backwards. “Yeah, I’m fine,” he grumbled. He inhaled sharply when another cut sliced across his palm. “Ow.”

Tiger crawled out of his cloak and twined around his shoulders. Her tail remained around his torso as she settled her head on his chest.

Jorel took another hesitant step. The only sounds were his quiet footsteps and his heart pounding in his ears.

_Jorel._

He whirled around. “Who said that?”

He waited a moment. Nothing popped out of the darkness, and he breathed a sigh of relief. He was imagining things. That had to be it.

He kept walking. Why had he gotten so mad at Aron? Sure, the guy was a pain to live with sometimes, but Jorel was never glad Aron left. He wasn’t that upset over it, either. He would have liked to know Aron was leaving, but he understood why he never told Jorel. He had no idea why they both blew up like that.

_Jorel._

Jorel jumped. That voice was not his imagination. “Who’s there?”

Silence. Tiger whimpered and nervously scratched Jorel’s shoulder with her front claws.

_Jorel._

His heart pounded faster. “Who are you?”

_JOREL!_

Tiger yelped and launched herself off Jorel’s shoulders. He heard her scramble in the grass and ran after her. “Hey! Tiger, it’s okay!”

His foot caught on something and he tumbled to the ground. He pushed himself to his feet. “Tiger!” he called.

Nothing.

Concern for Tiger immediately overwhelmed his feelings of fear for himself. He could handle being lost in a dark forest as long as he knew Tiger was safe. Now that she was lost in the darkness by herself, she was in more danger than she had been when they were together.

“Tiger!” he shouted. In a panic, he stumbled through the trees, shouting her name. He heard nothing in response but the sound of his own laboured breathing. More random cuts appeared on his arms, but he paid them no mind. He had to find Tiger.

“TIGER!” he screamed. He pushed past a tree, but his foot caught on a rock and he toppled over. He hit his head on a tree root and pain shot through his forehead. He lay there for a moment, disoriented.

Jorel groaned and pushed himself onto his elbows. The wounds on his arms stung as blood leaked through his sleeves.

Blinding light filled his vision. He squeezed his eyes shut, but he noticed it wasn’t as bright as he thought and slowly opened them.

A metal brazier on a stone pedestal sat in front of him. A dim red flame flickered in the brazier, illuminating a circle of light around it.

Jorel stood up. He seemed to be in a small clearing, but it was hard to tell in the dim light.

He approached the brazier, wondering who lit it, when he heard a faint _whoosh_ of flame behind him. He whirled around to see another brazier lit with a red flame right behind him. The clearing was lit up a bit more, and he spotted warped silhouettes of trees just beyond the light. Branches twined and twisted around each other, some of them reaching into the clearing with pointed tips and gnarled twigs.

Braziers appeared on either side of him, forming a square with the other two. He stood in the middle and gazed up at the strange trees.

_Jorel._

His heart leaped into his throat. He turned to face one side of the square. Two more braziers lit up a ways away from the other two, illuminating a wide path.

_Jorel._

Jorel stepped toward the path. The voice seemed to be coming from that direction. Maybe it would stop if he found out who it was.

He walked down the path. No more wounds had appeared on his arms since he stood up, but his sleeves were already blotted with blood, so it’s not like any more of them would make much of a difference.

He reached the two braziers on either side of the path, and two more lit up ahead of him. He glanced behind him. The darkness seemed to have stayed at the edges of the light. The first four braziers remained perfectly visible.

_Jorel!_

He turned back to the path and kept walking. More braziers with dim red flames appeared out of the darkness as he walked along the path. He knew he had to go find Tiger and the others, but his curiosity was pulling him toward that mysterious voice.

He reached another set of braziers and stopped in his tracks when he felt a sharp pain, in both wrists this time. He pulled down his sleeves, one at a time. He inhaled sharply when he noticed the sheer amount of cuts riddled across his flesh. Two small vertical cuts had been made in his wrists near his hands.

_Jorel._

He snapped his head up to stare at the dark path. Another set of braziers lit up ahead of him. Instead of waiting for him to walk up to them, another pair appeared from the darkness, blood red flames flickering across the metal.

_You really fucked yourself over, didn’t you?_

Jorel opened his mouth to ask what that meant, but his voice caught in his throat when one last pair of braziers blazed to life.

In the ground between the two braziers was a flat slab of stone. It was raised a little above the grass, a shabby makeshift pedestal in the ground. Tiger’s head rested on the rock. Her eyes were wide, an expression of shock stuck on her face...

Which sat a foot away from the rest of her body.

Blood pooled under the stump of her neck and streamed across the stone. Her body was slumped over the rock, raised on the pedestal as if on display. Her claws had gouged marks in the rock. Next to her decapitated head was an axe coated in blood.

Jorel’s legs grew weak. The ground seemed to sway beneath his feet. This... this wasn’t real. This couldn’t be real. Tiger couldn’t be...

He tore his eyes away from the scene and stared down at the ground. He felt bile rise in his throat, but he managed to keep it back. He had always feared that this would happen, but he never thought he’d ever see it.

A feeling of familiarity swept over him. He’d seen this before. That nightmare he had a few nights ago, the one he didn’t remember. _This_ was what he had seen. He’d seen this happen in that dream. He knew it was going to happen, and yet he’d been powerless to stop it.

He refused to look up at the scene in front of him, but plenty of images occupied his mind. Tiger bounding across the heads of townspeople to distract them as Jorel cut the ropes of dragons who were meant to be executed, Tiger running around the house with her pocket watch in her mouth, her wide eyes staring at him as she twined around his shoulders.

And now she couldn’t do any of that. Or anything else. All she could do was lay there, dead, in a puddle of her own blood.

Jorel stumbled backwards as sobs welled up in his throat. Tiger had been with him even longer than Aron had. He couldn’t imagine a life without her.

_You never should have come here._

Jorel gasped as his wrists stung. The two vertical wounds lengthened down his arms as if an invisible knife were slicing through his flesh. Tears welled in his eyes as the cuts dug deeper into his arms.

He felt a hand on his shoulder. “Nice job, Decker. I was planning on doing this earlier, but you made it easy.”

He knew who it was even before he turned around. The dragon rider stood behind him, a black strip of cloth over the bottom half of his face. He had his usual long brown coat over his tunic and pants, but his goggles were gone. His eyes were crinkled at the corners like he was smiling.

Jorel recognized the eyes immediately. “Aron.”

The dragon rider reached up behind his head. “Surprised you didn’t figure it out earlier, to be honest. Then again, you always were a little dense.”

He untied the cloth and lowered it from his face, revealing Aron’s wide smile. “Sorry about Tiger, by the way,” he said. “If it makes you feel any better, I made sure it was quick.”

Anger flared up in Jorel’s chest. Tears streamed from his eyes. “You killed her.”

Aron spread his hands. “Guilty as charged. And don’t worry.” He reached into his coat and unsheathed a dagger. “I’ll make sure your death is quick, too.”

Jorel jumped back as Aron swiped the blade toward him. Pain shot through his arms with every movement, but he reached back and grabbed his spear off his back. A sense of déjà vu overwhelmed him, and he realized that this had been part of his dream as well.

However, in the dream, Aron had managed to kill him. He wouldn’t let it happen this time.

Aron dashed forward and jabbed at Jorel’s chest. Jorel raised his spear, just barely deflecting the blow. He ducked under another stab and pushed past Aron. He sprinted back down the path. He hissed and almost dropped his spear when he felt the cuts on his arms dig deeper.

Footsteps pounded on the grass behind him. They got louder, and he ducked just as Aron’s knife swiped at his head. Jorel twirled his spear around and jabbed backward. He heard a pained grunt as the weapon pierced into Aron’s body, but he didn’t turn around to see where it had hit him. He kept running.

The braziers in front of him flickered out, and Jorel was plunged into darkness. He whirled around to face Aron just as he lunged forward with his dagger. Jorel held up his spear, and Aron’s blade clanged against the iron shaft.

Jorel reared back to stab at Aron’s silhouette, but he cried out and his spear fell from his hand. He could hardly see in the darkness, but the faint light of the braziers in front of him was just bright enough that he could see his arms.

The wounds snaked down his wrists, gouging deep into his flesh. Blood poured from the cuts. His vision went blurry and he swayed.

 _She’s gone,_ the voice said. _Why don’t you let him kill you?_

Jorel stared up at Aron’s silhouette. He stood there, his face hidden in shadows. He gripped his dagger in one hand while the other clutched a wound in his stomach. He didn’t move.

_You have nothing else to live for._

Jorel lowered his hands. The voice was right. Without Tiger, Jorel didn’t have anything else.

Aron raised his dagger and stepped forward. Jorel’s entire body grew weak as blood dripped from his hands. He took a step back, but his legs buckled and he crumpled to the ground. He watched Aron’s blurry silhouette enter his darkened vision and raise his knife.

Jorel closed his eyes and let the darkness sweep him away.


	15. The Natives

Blinding light filled Jorel’s vision as he peeled his eyes open. Pain flared up in his arms and he groaned. His head pounded. He raised his arms and squinted at them. Bandages coiled around his wrists, spotted with blood. A long line of red decorated the front of each wrist.

“You okay homie?” asked a familiar voice.

Jorel lifted his head and squinted. Dylan sat next to him on the icy ground. Dove and Grenade were curled up beside him, and they both perked up as Jorel moved.

“I guess,” Jorel mumbled. Where was he? What happened? Where was-?

His breath caught in his throat. Tiger was gone.

Memories flooded into his head and a sob escaped his lips. Aron had killed Tiger. They’d been friends for so long, and now she was just... dead.

Dylan put a hand on Jorel’s shoulder. “Come on, sit up man. We’ll get you something to eat.”

Dylan helped Jorel into a sitting position. “Yo Danny, could you watch him?” Dylan said. Jorel barely heard him.

Dylan walked off. Jorel spotted the ruined houses around them, and it registered that they were back in the Burned Out City. Grenade stood up and lowered himself down next to Jorel. Jorel absently put a hand on Grenade’s back. Dylan’s voice swam through the air as he spoke to someone.

“Where’d Aron go?”

Another voice responded. “Around here somewhere. Said he didn’t want to be around Jorel. He’s not letting me fix his wounds.”

A moment of silence. “Is she okay?”

“Yeah. Just a few scratches, really. Nothing serious. Nine’s in worse shape, but he’s not letting me near him either.”

“What about George?”

“Not gonna lie, it was a close call. He would have been fine if he hadn’t insisted on staying awake to fly us back here. He’s not as bad as Jorel is, though.”

“Jay’s awake, actually. Not sure how long that’s gonna last. He seems really out of it.”

“Might as well check on him. Besides, she really wants to see him.”

Footsteps crackled across the ice. Jorel kept his gaze on the ground as they approached.

He heard a squeak of a dragon. Claws skittered across the ice, and a familiar small body crashed into his chest. He automatically put a hand on the creature to steady it. A tail coiled around his torso, and tiny claws dug into his chest as the dragon settled its head on his shoulder.

Dylan and Jordon crouched in front of Jorel. “She was a little scratched up, but nowhere near as bad as you,” Jordon said. “She’ll be fine in a few minutes, but you need your rest.”

Hope bloomed in Jorel’s chest as he looked down at the dragon in his arms. Familiar red wings were folded against its long white body. The dragon raised its head off his shoulder and gazed at him with wide red eyes.

Tears of relief spilled over his face. “Tiger?”

Tiger chirped and nuzzled into the crook of his neck. He wrapped his arms around her and a happy sob welled up in his throat.

“I... I thought you...” he choked out between sobs. “You were... and Aron...” He gently pried her away from his chest so he could look at her. There was no trace of any injuries on her neck. “He... he killed you. What happened? How...?”

Dylan shrugged and sat next to Jorel. “That places fucks with you more than those Black Dahlia Fields, man. Somehow, Jordon, Danny, and I were fine, but George and Aron-”

“Aron.” A knot of anger tied itself in Jorel’s gut. “Where the fuck is he?”

“Don’t worry, he’s fine-”

“I don’t care if he’s fine,” Jorel growled. “He’s the fucking dragon rider. I saw it in the Grove and... and in that dream I had. The nightmare from a few nights ago. He... he killed-”

“Hey.”

Jorel whirled around. Aron and Nine stood on the road between two houses. Aron’s wrists were covered in loose bloody bandages. His face was pale and he leaned against Nine. His gaze flickered from Danny to Jordon, then to Dylan, and finally settled on Jorel. His eyes narrowed, and he turned his gaze to the ground.

Jorel struggled to push himself to his feet. “You-”

Dylan put a hand on his shoulder and pushed him back down. “Don’t even think about it. You both saw shit in there that wasn’t real, and you need to cool down. Tiger’s fine, Jorel’s not gonna die, and everything’s chill.”

“But...” Jorel muttered, “but I saw-”

“We know what you saw,” Jordon said. “We saw it too. If it makes you feel any better, Aron ran after you right after he pushed you. He got lost in the woods and saw a few pretty fucked up things of his own. We found him bleeding on the ground, and you can imagine our surprise when we saw you dead next to him.”

Jorel blinked as he registered what he said. “I... I didn’t...”

Dylan nodded. “Yeah, we figured that out when your body dissolved into shadows. We wandered further in and found the _real_ you half dead with a fake Aron about to stab you in the chest. George stepped in and saved your ass, but he eventually got separated and we had to search for him, too.”

“We have no idea what George saw,” Danny added. “But he was pretty much in the same state you were in. Jordon patched him up, but he’s still passed out.”

Jorel glanced around. George was nowhere in sight, but he spotted Monarch’s long blue tail sprawled across a road far ahead of him. A row of white spikes attached to blue speckled hide stretched above the ruined rooftops. The tips of a few tall grey ridges stuck out alongside them. Viral must have been keeping Monarch company.

“That place is fucked up,” Dylan whispered. “We didn’t even find the dragon rider in there.”

“He was there,” Aron murmured. “I saw him there in the Plains.”

“He might still be in there,” Jordon said. “But he can’t stay there forever.”

Danny flipped through his book. “We’ve gotta find him so we can stop him before he actually manages to kill every dragon in the world.”

Aron scratched at his bleeding wrists. “I’m sorry,” he choked. “I... I really thought...”

Jordon walked up to him with a roll of bandages. “It’s not your fault. Now will you let me actually fix your half-assed bandages so you don’t bleed to death?”

Aron blinked as the question registered in his head. “Oh. Uh, yeah. Sure.”

Aron held out his arms. Jorel kept his gaze on Aron as Jordon untangled his bandages.

He felt Dylan’s hand on his shoulder. “Dude, it’s okay. He’s not gonna hurt you.”

Jorel put a hand on Tiger’s head. “It’s not me I’m worried about.”

“You’re both fine,” Dylan reassured him. “Besides, he’s just as scared of you right now as you are of him. You both saw some pretty bad shit in there.”

Jorel stared down at the ground. “He... he hurt...”

“It wasn’t actually him who tried to hurt you,” Dylan said. “He didn’t even see Tiger in there at all. We found her hiding in a tree.” He leaned back and reached into Danny’s bag. “Look, you’ve been out for a few hours, and you lost a lot of blood.” He held his hand out to Jorel. An orange sat in his palm. “You’ll feel better once you eat.”

Jorel took the orange. Tiger whined and curled around his shoulders as he peeled it. “I said a lot of shit in there,” he whispered. “I don’t even know if I meant half of it.”

Danny scooted closer to the pair, his book in his lap. He had a quill in one hand and set an inkwell on the ground in front of him. “Aron said that place can mess with your emotions. I think that’s why we got a little angry in there. It definitely started effecting all of us after a while.” He scribbled something in his book as he spoke.

Lion walked up behind Jorel and sniffed at his orange peel. He held it up and she snatched it in her mouth. “What are you writing?”

“All the stuff we’ve learned about the Swan’s Nest so far. There’s a lot of information missing in here, so I’m filling it in.”

Jorel shoved a piece of orange into his mouth. His stomach twisted as the image of Tiger lying dead on the ground entered his mind. He knew it never actually happened, but the scene still haunted him.

Dylan slung an arm around his shoulders. “Take a deep breath, man. Two mental breakdowns in 24 hours will take a lot out of you. Everyone’s alive. We’ll be fine.”

Jorel nodded and leaned against Dylan as he munched on his orange. Tiger was alive. Everyone else was okay.

He looked up as the white spikes above the buildings moved. Monarch stood up, his great form occupying the majority of the sky in front of them. Viral popped up next to him, and the two dragons carefully walked down the street. A loud crack echoed through the air as Monarch stepped on a house.

The two of them approached the group. Viral trotted over to another street and flopped down right in the middle of it. Monarch stopped in front of them and lowered his head. George sat on Monarch’s neck, but the reins dangled freely from Monarch’s horns. George leaned forward against the back of Monarch’s head, his face hidden by his arms.

Jordon tied up Aron’s bandages and rushed over to Monarch. “Is he okay?”

“M’fine,” George mumbled. He raised his head to look down at the others. His skin was pale, and splotches of blood dotted on the bandages around his arms.

“You should be resting,” Jordon said.

George shifted and went to slide off Monarch’s neck. “No. No, I... I had to...”

Jordon dashed forward as George dismounted. He stumbled and Jordon put his hands on George’s shoulders to steady him. “No, you have to rest. You-”

He stopped when George wrapped his arms around him. “I’m sorry,” George mumbled.

Jordon blinked in surprise, but he patted George on the back. “It’s okay, man. Just sit down and let me change your bandages.”

Dylan watched as Jordon helped George sit on the ground. Monarch lied down so the two of them were in the crook between his chest and his arm.

Aron’s legs folded beneath him and he slumped to the ground, staring blankly at the remains of the fire from the day before. Danny shut his book and stood up. Lion followed as he walked over to Aron and sat down next to him. Jorel finished off his orange and hugged his knees to his chest, his face still pale. Tiger whined and curled around him.

Dylan sighed. “We have to come up with a plan. I know half of us are recovering from multiple traumatic events, but we have to figure out how to take this fucking dragon rider out. This guy’s just gonna keep leading us into danger if we don’t do something.”

Danny furrowed his brow. “So should we go back to the Plains to figure out where he is?”

Jordon shook his head as he tossed George’s bloody bandages into the fire pit. “No. He’s probably using that against us. He’s purposely going to dangerous places while he’s running his ‘errands’ so we’ll follow him and get killed.”

“Then what else should we do?” Danny asked. “All we know is that he might still be in the Grove. There’s no other way we can find him.”

“Wait,” George croaked. “There... there might be something else we can do.”

Five pairs of eyes shot to him. “What do you mean?” Dylan asked.

George took a deep breath. He looked exhausted, but he managed to speak. “I sensed something while we were flying here. I think it was somewhere out east.”

Jordon blinked. “You ‘sensed’ something? What does that mean?”

“It’s a buzzing feeling in the back of my head,” George explained. “I get it every time I’m near something related to this whole ‘chosen hero’ business. That includes you guys. I can sense all of you. That’s how I found you all when you were in Danny’s village.”

Danny tapped his quill against his book. “So, only you can feel this?”

George nodded. “It’s because I was put in charge of choosing the next heroes. You guys might be able to feel it at some point. I don’t know.”

“But you sensed something?” Dylan asked. “What was it?”

“I don’t know. I passed out before I could really register what I was feeling.”

 _I had to fly you here on my own,_ Monarch said. _That was a first._

George nodded. “Yeah. I’ve never fallen asleep while flying before.”

Jordon tied up the bandages around George’s wrists. “Well, you lost a lot of blood. I’m actually impressed you managed to stay conscious as long as you did.” He stood up. “Now you should go back to sleep.” He turned to look at Jorel and Aron. “And that includes you two. Whatever George sensed, we can check it out once you can all walk on your own.”

Monarch rested his head on the ground. _He’s right, George. You’re in no shape to be saving the world right now._

“Danny, Jordon, and I can come up with a game plan,” Dylan said. “And you three-” He looked at Aron, Jorel, and George in turn. “Get some fuckin’ sleep.”

* * *

Dove sniffed at the fire pit as Dylan struck one of his knives against the flint from his pocket. “You’re going to burn your nose,” he said.

He gently shouldered her aside as a spark flew into the mist-soaked wood. Green flames burst from the fire pit.

Danny sat down at the fire. It was only the middle of the day, but it felt like it had gone on much longer. He’d put away his book and quill, but he tapped his fingers against the ground impatiently. He wanted to defeat this dragon rider as much as the others did.

However, George had leaned against Monarch and gone to sleep a few minutes ago. They weren’t about to wake him up again so they could chase after the rider.

Aron and Nine had wandered off somewhere. Danny had no idea where they went, but he hoped they hadn’t flown away. The two of them wouldn’t be okay on their own after everything that had just happened.

“We still can’t trust him,” Jorel mumbled, as if he knew exactly what Danny had been thinking. He sat close to Dylan, leaning against Grenade with Tiger in his arms. He had almost fallen asleep multiple times, but he kept shaking himself awake.

Jordon sighed. “Dude, I know we were all suspicious of Aron at first, but maybe-”

“ _No_ ,” Jorel interrupted. “He’s the dragon rider. Dylan found a pair of goggles that belong to Aron. They look exactly like the ones the rider wears.”

Danny and Jordon both turned to Dylan. “You did?” Danny asked.

Dylan reached into his cloak. He held out his hand, and in his palm was a pair of goggles. “He dropped these last night,” Dylan said.

Jordon walked over to him and crouched down to examine the goggles. “Well, they’re definitely not mine,” he muttered, taking the goggles from Dylan’s hand. “These are copper, not brass. They don’t look like they were put together well, either. Looks like a bunch of metal plates were slapped together, and the glass is cracked.” He took hold of a small knob on the side of the goggles and twisted it. “It zooms in, though.”

“Maybe he just uses them the same way you do,” Danny suggested. “You know, to see stuff better.”

“Maybe.”

Jorel shook his head. “No, he’s the rider. I fuckin’ know it.”

Dylan put a hand on Jorel’s shoulder. “Dude, you should sleep. You’re still recovering.”

“I’m fine,” Jorel grumbled.

Tiger whimpered and batted her eyes at him. He glanced at her. “Fine,” he sighed. “Wake me up in five minutes.”

Still leaning on Grenade, he put up his hood and turned so his back was facing Dylan. It wasn’t long before Danny began to hear a faint snoring.

“What do you guys think George sensed?” Danny asked.

Dylan shrugged. “Maybe the other guy who was supposed to be a hero with us?”

Jordon turned the goggles over in his hands. “I don’t know,” he mumbled. “Guess we’ll have to find out.”

* * *

Jordon finished tying another new set of bandages over Jorel’s wrists. “You guys should be fine as long as you don’t start bleeding again,” he said.

Jorel scratched at the new bandages. “I told you to wake me after five minutes.”

Danny followed Dylan towards Monarch. “You needed your sleep.” He and Lion hopped onto Monarch’s back. Dove scampered after the sound of his voice and leaped on behind him.

Jordon packed up his stuff. He took his goggles out of his bag and put them over his eyes. “I’m not seeing Aron anywhere,” he announced as he scanned the sky.

“Good,” Jorel grumbled. He climbed onto Viral’s back. “That way he can’t swoop in and murder our dragons.”

Jordon hopped onto Viral’s back and sat down behind Jorel. “Calm down, dude. Everything’s fine now. If Aron comes by, we’ll ask him about the goggles and clear this up.” He took one of his pistols from his belt and checked to make sure it was still loaded. “We just have to be ready to fight him if he tries anything.”

Monarch stood up with George. “We’ll lead,” George shouted. He still looked a bit pale, but after having a nap and finally eating something, he was able to walk on his own.

Jordon shot him a thumbs-up. Monarch took off into the sky. Jordon kept a hand on Jorel’s shoulder to keep him steady as Viral launched after them.

Jordon leaned past one of Viral’s ridges to look at Jorel. He could only see the back of Jorel’s head, but Tiger kept nudging him with her nose and whimpering.

“You okay, man?” Jordon asked.

Jorel mumbled something under his breath that Jordon couldn’t hear.

Jordon just nodded as if he’d understood. “It’s okay, man. We’ll take down that dragon rider, whether it’s Aron or not.”

Jorel nodded. He twisted in his seat so he was facing Jordon. “I should have known this was going to happen.”

“There was no way you could have-”

“No,” Jorel interrupted. “I already knew it was going to happen. I just forgot. I saw all of that happen in a nightmare a few nights ago, the day before I met all of you. I just forgot about it. If I remembered it earlier-”

“Dude, it’s fine,” Jordon reassured him. “You can’t change what’s already happened. Don’t worry about it.”

Jorel took a deep breath. “I guess.” He leaned back against the ridge behind him and didn’t speak again.

George heard footsteps as Dylan walked across Monarch’s back. “You okay homie?” Dylan asked.

George shrugged. He already felt a buzzing in the back of his head, and he was too focused on flying to talk.

Dylan was silent for moment. George heard his footsteps fading away as he walked back down Monarch’s back.

 _You could talk to him,_ Monarch said. _You aren’t feeling well._

“I’m fine,” George said.

_Tell me what’s wrong. Is it about what you saw in the Grove of Loss?_

George sighed, which seemed like enough of an answer for Monarch. _What did you see in there?_ Monarch asked. _Whatever it was, you know it wasn’t real._

“I know it wasn’t,” George said finally. “I just don’t really want to talk about it.”

Monarch grunted. _Alright. Don’t dwell on it too much, though. Thinking about it won’t change anything._

George took a deep breath. “Yeah, I know.”

He looked down at the land below. They were passing over a bunch of small mountains. The air had gotten considerably colder, and George shivered. The buzzing grew stronger, but he still didn’t see anything that might be causing it.

Then the buzzing started to fade. He tugged on Monarch’s reins. “We passed it.”

Monarch stopped. Viral shot past them and whirled around. “Why’d we stop?” Jordon shouted.

George turned Monarch around. His gaze slid over the land and his eyes settled on a mountain. It was still small, but it was taller than the others and capped with snow. The buzzing in his skull got more intense when he looked at it.

He pointed. “There. That’s where it is.”

“Let’s go then,” Dylan said.

Monarch dived down toward the mountain. He slowed as they got closer and lowered himself into the snow. The peak of the mountain wasn’t big enough for him to land on, so he curled around the mountain and rested his head on the summit.

George, Dylan, and Danny hopped off Monarch’s neck. Monarch grunted as Viral landed on his back. Lion and Grenade looked up at Viral and huffed in unison. Dove scampered up to Monarch’s head and lied down, letting out a happy squawk as she did so.

Jorel carefully slid off Viral’s back and landed on Monarch. “I hate this,” he said. “I hate this so much. This is awful.”

Jordon hopped down and jumped into the snow next to George. “You’ll be fine, Jay.”

“Don’t call me that!”

Dylan turned around to face Monarch. “I can catch you, homie!”

“I am _not_ jumping!”

He sat down on Monarch’s back and slid down. Monarch lowered himself closer to the ground so Jorel could plant his feet in the snow before letting go. As soon as he was on the mountain, he grabbed his spear and stuck it into the snow so he had something to hold onto. Tiger glanced over the edge and squeaked. She leaped off Jorel’s shoulders and landed back on Monarch.

Danny reached into his bag and took out his book. He flipped through some pages. “I think this is Revolution Peak. This is where dragons started getting the upper hand on humans during that big human takeover attempt.”

Jordon lowered his goggles over his face and twisted the knob. “I don’t see anything interesting,” he said, scanning the area around them. “You sure this is the right place?”

George nodded. “Yeah. I’m sure.” He looked around. The buzzing was much stronger now, but he couldn’t seem to find anything that it would focus on.

He sighed. His gaze dipped toward the ground, and the buzzing intensified. It pulled him forward, and he almost stumbled over his feet.

George knelt to the ground. “I think...” He dug his hands into the snow and pushed a bunch of it to the side.

Jorel glanced over the side of the mountain and skittered away from the edge. “Oh god, I hate this so much. Fuck.”

Danny put his book away and crouched next to George. “What are you doing?”

 _Yes George,_ Monarch said. _What_ are _you doing?_

George pushed another mound of snow to the side. “It might be under here.” He dug his hands in again and his fingers brushed stone. “I found it!” He looked up at Viral. “Can you melt the snow around here?”

Viral walked closer to Monarch’s head so he could look down at the mountain. George backed up as Viral took aim. He opened his mouth, and the back of his throat glowed orange. A bolt of fire shot from Viral’s mouth and crashed into the ground. Snow exploded from the mountaintop, sending snow cascading over the side. A bare patch of stone was left in the fire’s wake, the snow around it steaming from the heat.

“Thanks!” George called.

Monarch shifted and growled. _George, he’s too heavy._

“He’s only half your size,” George pointed out. “You’ve carried heavier.”

_Yes, but it’s the size of his ego that’s weighing him down._

“Monarch, don’t be an asshole.” He knelt down on the stone. “Guys, come here.”

Dylan, Jordon, Danny, and Jorel all gathered on the circle of stone. Jorel still kept a tight hold of his spear, despite the fact that he couldn’t use it as a handhold anymore.

Dylan crouched on the stone. “So, what is this for?”

“This.” George put his hand on the stone. Under his palm, the rock glowed blue.

“It’s that thing again,” Jordon muttered. He shoved his goggles in his bag and knelt. He smacked his hand on the ground, and orange light seeped out from under his palm.

Dylan and Danny sat down and set their hands on the ground. Green and yellow light appeared in the stone.

Jorel lowered himself to the ground, leaning on his spear. “I still hate this,” he whispered. He touched the ground, and a red handprint lit up in the stone.

Danny furrowed his brow. “Wait... Wasn’t the other one a door? Is this one-?”

He was interrupted when the stone split through the middle and both sides swung downward. All five of them tumbled into the hole that had suddenly appeared in the ground. One of them screamed, but Danny couldn’t tell who.

They were barely falling for a second when they landed on something soft. Danny sat up and glanced around. The light from the hole above them was enough to illuminate the area. They were at the end of a long hallway made of rock, lying in a big snow bank.

Danny shook some snow off his head. He put a hand on the wall to push himself up, and a glowing yellow handprint appeared under his palm.

Jorel stood up and brushed the snow off his clothes. He dug around in the snow and grabbed his spear. “Another glowy cave,” he muttered. He drew a red squiggle on the wall. “Cool.” He glanced up. “Tiger could have come in here,” he mumbled.

Dylan swiped his hand across the ceiling to brighten up the hallway. “Wonder what’s in here.”

Jordon brushed some snow off his pants. “Let’s find out.”

The five of them started down the corridor. Danny dragged his hand along the wall and walked in front of the others to light up the hallway ahead. Jorel and Dylan walked side by side, Jorel tracing Danny’s lines with his red ones and Dylan dragging his fingers across the ceiling. Jordon walked next to Dylan and swiped his hand up and down against the wall. George lagged behind at the back.

Dylan glanced at Jorel. “So, what you saw in the Grove... You said you also saw that in your dream?”

Jorel hesitated, but he nodded. “Yeah.”

Danny turned so he was walking backwards, keeping one hand on the wall. “I read that sometimes dreams can be warnings. They can show what’s going to happen in a certain place or at a certain time so you can prepare yourself or prevent it from happening. Maybe that’s what this is.”

Jorel shook his head. “I don’t know. I don’t usually believe that shit, but... the stuff that happened in there was the _exact_ same as my dream.”

“We’ll figure it out,” Dylan said. “Right now, we’ve got to deal with this.”

His fingers slid off the ceiling as they emerged in a large circular room. Glowing yellow lines appeared on the ground as Danny stepped into the room, snaking across the floor in swirly patterns.

Green, red, orange, and blue lines joined the yellow ones as the others followed after Danny. They danced across the floor and decorated the walls, lighting up the entire room.

Jordon looked around. “There’s nothing in here. Is there something we have to-?”

“Where are the other two?”

All five of them jumped at the disembodied voice. George reached across his body and drew his blade. “Who was that?”

Danny stared with wide eyes as smoky red mist began to rise from Jorel’s red lines. The mist converged in the middle of the room. They watched as it swirled and formed a vague silhouette of a human.

Jorel pointed his spear at the shape. “Who are you?”

The mist whirled together until the silhouette looked almost solid. A person wearing a cloak appeared in the smoke. The shadows in the hood obscured his face. Dark liquid dripped off the shoulders of the cloak, and the end of the cape smoked as if it were on fire. He floated above the ground, the tips of his boots just grazing the stone.

“I’m not answering your question until you answer mine,” he said. “Now where are the other two?”

George blinked. “You mean, the other two heroes who were supposed to help us?”

“Yeah. What else did you think I meant?”

“They bailed,” George said. “They left Sunset Island. We found one of them, but he also might be evil.”

The person sighed. “Of course. There’s always one evil bitch in the group.” He glided forward. “So, it’s just the five of you then? Disappointing, but you look pretty capable.” He leaned in to examine Jorel. “Well, mostly. Do you guys always look like you’re half dead?”

Jorel took a step backward. “Who exactly are you?”

The person folded his hands behind his back and glided backward. “The hero who came before you, Jorel Decker. I’ve been waiting for a new group of heroes for the past thousand years.”

Dylan rested his arm on Jordon’s shoulder. “So, why are you here? Any specific reason, or did you just want to hang around and wait for someone to talk to?”

“I’m here to help,” the ghostly hero said. “Give you some guidance. Besides, the two of us have been pretty lonely for the past thousand years.”

More red mist rose from the glowing lines and gathered next to him. It twisted into a long serpentine silhouette. Six wings sprouted from its body, and it curled around the hero’s chest. Two wide eyes opened in the shape’s head and stared at the five of them.

The hero rested his hand on the dragon’s head. “Something tells me you five need some advice. The threat you’re facing is dangerous, even more so than the humans who tried to take over the world a thousand years ago. Eggs are being abandoned all over the Swan’s Nest, this dragon rider has recruited an army of dragons- there’s a lot of shit happening here.”

“And we have no idea how to fix any of it,” Jorel said.

“We don’t even know where this dragon rider could be now,” George added. “Or Aron.”

The hero crossed his arms and tapped his foot in the air as if he was thinking. “Yeah, that sounds like a problem.” He thought for another moment. “I’d like to talk to Jorel, if you don’t mind. Alone.”

Jordon and Danny exchanged a confused glance, but they started for the hallway. “We’ll be down here if you need us,” Dylan called as they disappeared into the corridor.

Jorel turned back to the hero. “What do you want to talk to me about?” He didn’t really want to talk to a person made of mist, but it didn’t seem like he had much of a choice.

The hero drifted closer and lowered to the ground. Mist curled up from his form as his feet touched the stone. “You are a very capable hero, Jorel. I can see that already. You care about your dragon more than anything, and you’d do anything to keep her safe. But you can’t rely on your love for your dragon to determine everything else in your life.”

Jorel blinked. “What are you talking about?”

“You felt threatened on Tiger’s behalf when you saw Aron in the Burned Out City after your trip into the Grove of Loss. You can’t toss out the friendship the two of you had because of something you saw that you know wasn’t real.”

Jorel hunched his shoulders. “It felt real,” he mumbled.

“Jorel,” the hero sighed, “in this world, there aren’t many people you can trust. You’ll have to make alliances with people you don’t know and people you used to know. Trust me, I made the same mistake.” He scratched his dragon behind its small horns. “I sacrificed everything for my dragon, but it only doomed the both of us.”

“Wait, so you’re dead?”

The hero snorted. “What, did you think I was alive after a thousand years?”

“I mean, George survived that long.”

“Right. He went into hibernation.” He shook his head. “Anyway, I know it’s been a long time since you’ve seen Aron, and everything is rocky between you two, but you can’t just insist that he’s a bad guy and not give it another thought. The same exact thing happened between me and one of the other heroes. She would have appeared too, if Aron had come along.”

“How did you die?”

“I left the other heroes behind to come here, to Revolution Peak. My dragon and I had been separated and he ended up here. I abandoned my team because I didn’t trust them enough to help me save my dragon. We fought against the humans who were trying to take the Swan’s Nest. We helped turn the tide, but... we died on this mountain.” He took a deep breath. “Just promise me, no matter what, don’t sacrifice yourself for your dragon. You may end up killing both of you in the process, or destroying a relationship that could have thrived.”

“But... what if she’s in danger? What if I have to save her?”

“You’ve already sacrificed so much for her. You can fight to protect her, but don’t let yourself die. Think of it this way: if you die saving your dragon, who’s going to protect her when you’re gone?”

Jorel considered his words. He didn’t want anything to happen to Tiger. He couldn’t stand the thought of her dying. But if he died trying to protect her, she would be devastated. She might even blame herself for it.

“I guess you’re right,” he muttered.

“I usually am. However, I have one more thing I need to tell you.”

“What is it?”

The hero leaned in. “Go to the Tragedy Isles. That’s where you’re rider’s going next.”

Jorel stumbled as the whole room shook. Stony dust rained down from the ceiling, and the hero hissed through his teeth. “Oh, you might have to get going a bit earlier than I thought.” He turned and glided away from Jorel. Jorel saw that a large dollar sign took up the majority of the back of his cape. “Good luck!” he called just before he and his dragon dissipated into red mist.

The room shook again, and Jorel heard Dylan’s voice shout from the hall. “Jay, come on!”

Jorel clenched his spear in both hands and ran back towards the corridor.


	16. Off The Deep End

Dylan climbed up the side of the wall with his daggers, leaving green glowing streaks in the rock every time his fingers brushed the stone. The whole cave shook and he grimaced. “I can’t even see what’s happening!” he shouted.

Jorel tossed his axes to Jordon and drew his dagger as soon as he joined the group. “Anybody know what’s going on?”

Jordon immediately began scaling the wall. “Nope, but we have to get up there!”

Danny shot an arrow from his crossbow high into the wall. A thin rope trailed from the arrow, and he shot upwards after it.

George drew his sword and vaulted up the wall, striking his blade into the rock. Bracing himself against the wall, he launched himself to the opposite side and jabbed his sword into the stone again. Blue marks were left behind where his free hand touched the rock.

Danny held onto the first arrow he’d fired and shot another one to the top of the wall. “I’ll go take a look!” He zipped up to the top and pulled himself over the edge.

The whole cavern shook again. A deafening roar echoed off the stone, and George started climbing faster.

Dylan reached the top and hauled himself up. “Holy shit! You guys have to get up here!”

George launched himself up to the top and clambered over the edge. Dylan leaned down and took Jorel’s arms to pull him up before doing the same with Jordon.

Jorel sheathed his dagger and stood up in the snow. Wind whipped around them, blowing up snow from the mountain tops. More snow fell from the sky and got caught in the wind. A large white dragon stood on a peak across from them, but it was hard to see through the raging blizzard. Jorel could have sworn he saw a person standing on the dragon’s neck.

He heard another explosive roar from right behind him and whirled around. Monarch had lifted his head from the summit and was snapping at dozens of dragons darting around him. Viral had flown to the peak just next to them, Lion, Dove, and Grenade on his back. A small white dragon was twined around one of his ridges, and Jorel sighed with relief when he realized that it was Tiger.

“Monarch!” George sprinted toward his dragon.

A dragon dived down and raked its claws across Monarch’s eye. Monarch screeched, and the dragons scattered as George climbed on his back. He took the reins in one hand and held his sword with the other as he stood on Monarch’s neck. Monarch raised his wings and launched off the peak, the gust of wind from his wings almost sending Jordon over the side. Monarch flew toward the white dragon on the peak across from them, and the swarm of dragons followed.

Dylan held a dagger by the chain and twirled it. “What do we do?”

Jordon tossed the axes back to Jorel and drew his guns. “We fight.”

He turned to Viral and whistled. Viral jumped off his mountain and flew over to them. The four dragons on his back hopped onto the mountain, and Tiger immediately twined herself around Jorel’s shoulders.

Dylan ran up to Dove and Grenade. He knelt so he was on Dove’s level. “It’s dangerous here. You need to fly away.”

Dove whimpered. “Anywhere,” Danny answered. “Just go somewhere that isn’t here. We’ll find you later, I promise.”

Dove hesitated, but she nodded. She rose into the air and flew away.

Jordon climbed onto Viral’s back. “We have to help George. Jorel?”

Jorel hopped up after him. “Let’s go.”

Viral took off after Monarch. Jorel heard the flapping of wings as Grenade and Lion followed them.

Monarch had settled around another mountain, his claws digging into the rock as dragons swarmed him. He roared at the white dragon across from him, and the dragons scattered again.

The white dragon roared back, but it wasn’t nearly as loud as Monarch. The dragon rider on its neck tugged on the reins, and the dragon opened its mouth. Its throat glowed white, and a bolt of freezing ice shot from its gullet and crashed into Monarch. He screeched and seemed about to return fire, but the dragons swooped down at him again and he growled.

Jorel turned to look at Dylan and Danny, who were flying right behind Viral on Lion and Grenade. “We’ll take care of the dragon rider! You guys help George!”

They both nodded, and the two dragons veered toward Monarch. Jorel clutched his spear in one hand and one of Viral’s ridges in the other as they flew against the wind.

The white dragon opened its mouth to fire at Monarch again, but flames exploded from Viral’s mouth and blew over the dragon. It screeched and flailed as Viral flew over it.

“Hop off!” Jordon shouted.

“Are you serious?”

“Just do it!”

Jorel stared down at the dragon. Tiger whimpered, but Jorel steeled his nerves and jumped off Viral’s back. His stomach dropped as he fell, but he landed on the dragon and stuck his spear into its back to keep himself steady.

The dragon squawked as Jorel yanked his spear back out. The dragon rider whirled around. Jorel could barely see him through the snow. “Decker!” he yelled. “How the fuck did you survive the Grove? You were supposed to die in there!”

Jorel shrugged. “Got lucky, I guess.” He raised his spear. “You ready to get your ass kicked?”

The dragon rider reached across his body and drew a dagger. “You wish.”

He rushed at Jorel, and Jorel caught his blade with the shaft of his spear. He pushed the rider off him and jabbed at his chest, but he ducked behind one of his dragon’s ridges.

The rider lunged at Jorel with his dagger. Jorel deflected the blow and swept his spear at the rider’s legs. He jumped over the spear easily, but Jorel changed direction and swung it towards his head. The side of the spearhead connected with the rider’s temple, and he cried out as the edge sliced into his skin. He backed away, but Jorel twirled his spear around and slammed the pommel into his chest. The rider grunted and toppled backward.

Jorel put a boot on the rider’s chest to keep him down and raised his spear. He was about to stab it into the rider’s head, but he hesitated. If this was Aron...

But even if it was Aron, he was dangerous. He was trying to use dragons to kill dragons. He had to be stopped.

Jorel sighed and lowered his spear. “Aron, you don’t have to do this.”

The rider didn’t respond for a moment. Jorel waited for him to say something, but instead, the rider grabbed Jorel’s leg and pushed it off his chest. Tiger squeaked as Jorel lost his balance and toppled over. The rider scrambled to his feet and raised his dagger.

He stumbled backward when fire washed over him. He leaned against one of the ridges and swatted at the flames on his clothes.

Jorel sat up. Viral stood on the summit next to theirs. Jordon leaned past Viral’s neck to look at Jorel. “Yo Jay!” he shouted. “We found backup!”

The rider looked up at the sky. “Fuck,” he hissed.

Jorel followed his gaze. A dragon flew down towards them, a silhouette of a person on its back. A bolt of ice shot from the dragon’s mouth and hit the white dragon on the head as it darted past.

The rider clenched his dagger. “You fuckers are messing up everything!”

The dragon circled around and set down next to the white dragon. Jorel still couldn’t see well through the blizzard, but the unmistakable glint of Nine’s crystalline hide shone through the snow.

The rider glanced at Jorel, then at Nine, then at Viral. He turned to look at the dragons surrounding Monarch and sighed. “Fuck you.”

Jorel clenched his spear, hoping that meant he would pick up and leave, but instead, half the swarming dragons changed direction and rushed toward them. The white dragon shifted, and Jorel scrambled off its back as the rider picked up his reins.

Jorel turned and ran. He spotted the silhouette on Nine’s back holding out a hand toward him. Jorel grabbed the hand, and the person pulled him onto Nine’s back as Nine took off toward Viral.

Jorel turned to Aron. “Thanks.”

Aron looked at Jorel. He reached up and lifted his cracked copper goggles off his face and onto his head. “Thank me later. We’re not done yet.”

Jorel nodded. He looked at the swarm chasing them. The white dragon had taken off to attack Monarch, but the smaller dragons that were chasing them would be more difficult to deal with than one large dragon.

“Jump onto Viral,” Aron said. “Nine can’t carry two people for too long.”

Jorel looked down. As soon as they were above Viral, he slid off Nine’s back and plummeted downward. He expected to land on his feet, but instead he ended up in Jordon’s arms.

“You really are the damsel of the group, aren’t you?”

Jorel rolled his eyes as Jordon set him down on Viral’s back. “Yeah, whatever. Let’s go.”

Viral took off after Nine. A dragon about Tiger’s size darted after them, growling with its teeth bared. It became a blur as it shot up to Viral’s face and bit at his face. Viral shook his head and head butted the dragon, and it went flying.

Another dragon caught up to them and snapped at Viral’s wing. It latched on, but it got thrown off when Viral flapped his wings.

“He couldn’t have gotten smarter dragons, could he?” Jordon mumbled.

They circled around and headed back toward Monarch. He had been holding up okay until now. The dragon rider and the white dragon had joined the swarm and were firing bolt after bolt of ice at him. Jorel watched as a stray icicle struck a dragon out of the air. A person tumbled off the dragon’s back, and the dragon shot after him. It caught the person and snapped at a passing dragon.

“Was that Dylan or Danny?” Jordon asked.

“Not sure, but I think they need help!”

Nine slowed so he and Aron were flying alongside them. “We’ve got to get these dragons off our ass first!”

A dragon zipped past them and sank its teeth into Nine’s side. Nine shrieked, and he almost tumbled out of the air. Viral dipped lower to catch him and Aron.

Aron stumbled off Nine’s back. He drew his knife and held it up as a dragon dived toward him. He sliced across the dragon’s wing as it passed, but two more dragons shot towards Jorel. One of them opened its mouth to bite him, but he held up his spear and their mouth closed on the shaft. He pushed it away just as the other one slashed at Tiger. She yelped and ducked just before its claws could rake her face.

Jordon shot at the wing of a dragon just before it slashed at Viral’s face. “Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, _fuck_!”

Jorel risked a glance at Monarch. The white dragon darted around him, firing dozens of icicles at his face. Monarch roared in defiance, but it did nothing. Dragons continued to swarm around him, and despite Dylan and Danny’s best efforts to help, they didn’t seem to be making much of a difference.

A dragon swooped down to Jorel and he ducked. There was no way they could all get out of this alive. There were too many dragons.

All the dragons scattered as a deafening roar echoed through the air. Jorel turned to look at Monarch and saw him hunched over the mountain, hundreds of scratches dotting his body. His chest heaved as he breathed, but he opened his maw and loosed a horrible screech.

Viral stopped in his tracks and pawed at his head, trying to block out the sound. Tiger whined and wriggled in Jorel’s cloak. The swarm of dragons dispersed, and over half of them disappeared into the sky.

The dragon rider led his dragon to settle on another mountain. Lion and Grenade hovered nearby as Monarch put his front paws on the summit of his mountain and pushed himself up.

Jordon squinted at Monarch. “Is it just me, or are Monarch’s horns bigger?”

He was right. Smaller points had grown from Monarch’s horns, branching into an antler-like crown. Two points protruded from the underside of his horns and curled toward his chin. His teeth seemed to have gotten bigger as well, because his canines stuck up over his lip.

Jorel blinked. It might have just been his imagination, but it looked almost like Monarch’s eyes were glowing.

Monarch opened his mouth. His throat glowed blue before a blast of water erupted from his gullet. It slammed into the white dragon, who screeched and tumbled backwards off its mountain. Monarch roared and leaped off his peak. He hopped from mountain to mountain and darted after the white dragon.

Jordon sheathed his guns and held onto one of Viral’s ridges. “Let’s go after them!”

Viral lurched forward. Lion and Grenade flew through the air and glided next to them.

“You guys okay?” Danny shouted through the wind.

“We’re fine!” Jorel answered. He looked up. The remaining swarm of dragons had gone after George and Monarch, but they wouldn’t be as much of a threat now that there were only half of them.

Monarch’s paws pounded against mountain peaks as he ran after the white dragon. The dragon had righted itself and was now weaving between mountains, trying to get away from Monarch, but another blast of water exploded from his throat and smashed against the dragon’s back. It screeched and wriggled between two summits as water tore through its hide and opened a gash on its back. No one could see the dragon rider from where they were.

The dragon vaulted over a mountain and landed in a wide field. Monarch leaped after it. Dragons gathered behind the dragon and landed in the grass. The wind was calmer in the field, but snow still blew down from the sky.

Surprisingly, the dragon rider grabbed one of his dragon’s ridges and stood up. He still had a hold of the reins, but he was soaked form head to toe. He coughed, and a spout of water burst from the cloth over his mouth.

Lion, Grenade, and Viral landed in the field behind Monarch. Up close, Jordon could clearly see that he had not been imagining it- Monarch’s eyes _were_ glowing. Two smaller pinpricks of blue light flashed above Monarch’s neck, and it took Jordon a moment to realize that those were George’s eyes.

Monarch growled, the sound shaking the earth beneath them. The two curled points on his horns had twisted below his chin and curled upward like the horns of a ram. If Jordon focused, he could actually see Monarch’s horns and canines growing bigger. His claws seemed to have gotten longer, and Jordon blinked in surprise as Monarch lowered his wings- but another pair of wings separated from the first pair and stayed in the air.

The dragon rider coughed as the last of the water left his throat. “It really is a shame,” he choked. “You two could have been extremely helpful if you had just joined me in the first place.”

George narrowed his eyes. Monarch raised all four of his wings and launched into the air. The rider pulled on his dragon’s reins and they took off just as Monarch crashed down where they had been a second earlier. Dragons yelped and skittered away.

Jordon kept a hand on one of his revolvers. “Should we do anything?”

Aron stared up at Monarch as he lunged at the white dragon. “Yeah,” he said. “We have to stop him.”

Jorel blinked. “Stop... the dragon rider?”

Aron shook his head. “No.” He nodded toward George. “Him.”

Monarch opened his maw and blasted the rider and his dragon with another powerful jet of water. The dragon squeaked and jumped out of the line of fire. Monarch shut his mouth and growled, cutting off the stream of water. He flicked his tail toward the dragon, and dozens of white spikes shot into its hide.

The rider pulled on the reins to keep his dragon steady. “Is this what you _fucking_ wanted, Ragan? What, is this what you did to those millions of people who came to your keep? You ever consider that maybe _this_ is why they wanted you and your dragon dead?”

Dylan gaped at the rider. “Millions?” he whispered.

Monarch opened his mouth and unleashed an ear-splitting shriek. Every dragon that had been part of the rider’s swarm shot into the air and fled, tripping as they took off and crashing into each other in their haste to fly away.

The white dragon growled in response. It planted its feet in a defensive stance and lowered its head to the ground so its spiky ridges were all facing Monarch. Despite the fear in its eyes and the bloody gashes Monarch’s blasts had left all over its body, it was gearing up to fight.

The back of Monarch’s throat glowed blue, but a golden shape darted past Jordon and flew in front of him. “Wait!” Danny shouted as he and Lion hovered in front of Monarch.

Monarch closed his mouth, but his eyes narrowed and a growl rumbled in his throat. George stood on Monarch’s back, his sword clenched in one hand and his reins in the other. He glared down at Danny as he shifted so he was kneeling on Lion’s back. Lion lowered her head so he could speak to Monarch and George face to face.

“Guys, this isn’t the way to go about this,” Danny said. “You aren’t yourselves right now. Calm down. We’ll figure this out peacefully.”

Nobody moved.

The white dragon launched into the air and dashed toward the clouds. Monarch roared and took off after him, crashing into Lion and knocking her and Danny out of the air. Dylan and Grenade rushed forward and caught Danny just as Lion righted herself and landed on the ground. Jordon held onto one of Viral’s ridges as Viral took off after Monarch.

Viral squawked at Monarch, no doubt trying to convince him to stop. Monarch didn’t listen, and neither did George, it seemed.

Jordon clenched the hilt of his revolver. He didn’t want to fix this with violence, but that might be their only option.

Viral apparently came to the same conclusion. He flew faster and almost caught up to Monarch. Viral opened his mouth, and flames blossomed from his throat and enveloped Monarch’s tail.

Monarch screeched and whirled around. He hovered in the air, his four wings beating in unison. His throat glowed as he readied another blast of water.

Danny and Lion shot up in front of Viral. “Guys, calm down! We don’t want to fight you, but we will if we have to. Now get your asses back on the ground, and _don’t_ make me tell you twice!”

Monarch blinked in surprise. He hovered closer as a growl rose in his throat, but Danny didn’t budge.

“Calm down,” he ordered. “Honestly, I’m disappointed that I have to tell you again. I thought the two of you had more sense than that. I expected better from a Great Dragon and its companion. You could have hurt any one of us while you two were going berserk. Did you even think of that?”

Monarch’s eyes widened. He turned his head to look at George. He lowered his sword and hunched his shoulders, and Monarch let out a quiet whimper.

Danny sighed. “Just go set down in the field. The rest of us will be with you in a minute.”

Monarch flapped his four wings and glided down toward the field at the base of the mountains. As soon as he and George were on the ground, Danny let out a breath. “Oh my god, that was the scariest thing I’ve ever done.”

Dylan flew over to Danny and Lion with a grin on his face. “I didn’t know you had a backbone, man!”

Danny shrugged. “Well, some dragons need to be tamed with discipline instead of kindness. The ‘disappointed mom’ act seems to work best.”

Jorel glanced back at Monarch. “Should we go talk to them?”

“Not yet,” Danny said. “We gotta give them a minute or two to think about what they’ve done. Once we go down there, I’ll apologize for getting mad and we’ll all discuss what could have gone better about the situation.”

“What could have gone better is them not going off the shits!” Aron said. “Seriously, what the hell was that? Did anyone else notice that their eyes were glowing?”

“And the horns,” Jordon added. “And the claws, and the teeth-”

“And the fucking wings!” Dylan pointed out. “That was simultaneously the coolest and most terrifying thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”

Jorel nodded. Tiger stuck her head out of his cloak and licked at his face. “That... that wasn’t normal, was it? That’s not a thing that happens to all dragon companions.”

Jordon shook his head. “Don’t think so. At least it hasn’t happened to me.”

“Me neither,” Dylan said.

“Maybe it’s a Great Dragon thing,” Danny suggested. “Either way, we’ll have to ask him.”

Aron scoffed. “Oh, fuck no. I’m not going anywhere near that fucking lunatic. I always knew this hero stuff was nuts, but this is way worse than I expected.” He walked across Viral’s back toward Nine.

Jorel stepped forward. “You’re leaving?”

“Yeah, no shit!” Nine stood and Aron sat on his back. “We’re not sticking around for this.”

“I’m glad you helped,” Jorel blurted. “You didn’t have to, but you did anyway. You saved me. Thank you.”

Aron blinked. “Why are you thanking me? I thought you’d rather kill yourself than be anywhere near me.”

Jorel stared at him. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Don’t act like you don’t know,” Aron grumbled. Nine spread his wings. “See you later, asshole. Good luck with being a hero.”

With that, Nine and Aron took to the sky. Jorel stared after them as they disappeared into the clouds.

Jorel turned to Jordon. “What did he mean?”

Jordon scratched the back of his neck. “I think it has something to do with what he saw in the Grove of Loss. He didn’t tell us what he saw, but based on the fact that we found you dead next to him with a bloody dagger in your hand and a stab wound in your chest...” He shrugged. “We kinda pieced it together.”

Jorel’s eyes widened. “Oh.” He furrowed his brow. “Does he know it wasn’t real?”

“Not sure. Maybe we can find him again later and talk about it, but for now we’ve got a bigger problem.”

Viral, Lion, and Grenade turned and flew back toward the field. They swooped down and landed in the grass next to where Monarch was laying.

Monarch and George looked up as soon as they landed. The glow had started to fade from their eyes, but George’s knuckles were white on the hilt of his sword. He still hadn’t returned it to its sheath. A butterfly fluttered up from the grass and landed on the pommel, seemingly unbothered by the cold wind.

Danny hopped off Lion’s back and walked over to George. “Hey. I’m sorry I yelled at you, but someone needed to snap you out of it. We didn’t know what was going on, and we got concerned.”

The other three followed after Danny and stopped in front of George. “Could you maybe explain exactly what the fuck happened back there?” Dylan asked.

George rubbed his eyes with his free hand. When he lowered his hand, the glow had disappeared from his gaze. “I’m sorry,” he said. Monarch’s throat rumbled and George nodded. “We’re both sorry,” he added. “We didn’t really mean to do that again, we just-”

“But why did it happen?” Jordon asked.

George looked to Monarch. He lowered his wings, and the second pair melded into the first. Monarch set his head on the ground and growled something to George.

George took a deep breath. “We were being overwhelmed,” George said. “It’s a last resort defence mechanism. We can’t control when it happens. We didn’t mean to hurt anyone.”

Jorel looked at the sky where the dragon rider had disappeared to. “Well, it was helpful for a bit. You probably could have taken that rider down.”

“I hope his dragons are okay,” Danny said. “They didn’t deserve to get dragged into this.”

Jordon shrugged. “Yeah, but they also joined him willingly. Not saying we should go out of our way to hurt them, but if they’re too scared to fight, that’s less of a problem for us.”

George blinked. “Wait, you think they joined him willingly?”

“Yeah,” Dylan said. “How else would he get an army of dragons?”

George hesitated. His shoulders tensed and he glanced at Monarch. Monarch avoided his gaze.

“Being a dragon companion isn’t just about helping dragons,” George said. “I mean, yeah, you can take care of dragons and heal them, but that’s not all it is.” He looked up at Jorel. “You were with me when the dragon rider attacked the Keep, right?”

Jorel nodded. He didn’t see how that was relevant, but he decided to go along with it.

“So you heard him asking me why I don’t just control Monarch?”

Jorel blinked. “What does that...?”

Dylan’s eyes widened. “Wait a fuckin’ second.” He looked from George to Grenade. “Are you saying we could control our dragons?”

George nodded. “Yes, I am. It’s not something that you should ever do. When you control a dragon, you’re responsible for everything it does. What it eats, when it sleeps, when it breathes. You could kill a dragon just by thinking about it wrong.”

“Shit,” Jordon muttered.

“Of course, there are some you just can’t control,” George said. “You can only control them when you already have a bond with them. Dove seems pretty resistant, which is probably why he used a blindfold while he was still her rider.” He shrugged. “And I honestly don’t think I could control Monarch even if I wanted to. He’s too stubborn.”

Monarch huffed and rolled his eyes. His horns had shrunk to more or less their normal size by now, and so had his claws and teeth. A butterfly flew up from the field and settled on his nose.

Danny stared at the ground. “That’s awful. Who the fuck would do that?”

Jordon sighed. “So, that rider has bonded with all those dragons and has been controlling them?”

George nodded. “Probably.”

An idea popped into Jorel’s head. “Is that why all these eggs and hatchlings are being abandoned? The rider is taking their parents for his dragon army?”

Dylan scratched the back of his neck. “That might be it. And the reason some of them hatch with pink eyes might be because...” He hesitated. “He might be killing all the dragons who resist him.”

Jordon narrowed his eyes. “We have to stop him.”

“We could go back to the Plains to figure out where he’s going,” Danny suggested.

Jorel shook his head. “No need. That ghost in Revolution Peak told me the rider’s heading to the Tragedy isles.”

Jordon’s shoulders slumped. “The Tragedy Isles? Seriously?”

“That’s all the way across the world!” Danny exclaimed.

“That’ll be about a seventeen hour flight, not including breaks,” Dylan said. “It would be a lot longer if we were using ships.” He furrowed his brow. “That would take over a week.”

“At least we’re going over the Land of the Dead,” George pointed out. “We’ll be able to stop if we need to.”

“Guess we better prepare for a long flight,” Jordon muttered.

“We have to find Dove first,” Dylan said.

Danny’s eyes widened. “Oh shit, we do.” He turned to Jordon. “Can we take Viral to go find her?”

Jordon headed toward Viral. “Way ahead of you, man.” He turned back to the others as he, Danny, and Lion climbed on Viral’s back. “You guys get some food for the trip. We’ll meet you back at the Burned Out City.”

Jorel nodded. Viral spread his wings and took to the sky.

Jorel and Dylan turned back to George and saw him climbing onto Monarch’s back. “Come on,” he called. “Let’s go.”

Jorel and Dylan exchanged a glance. George still hadn’t sheathed his sword, and Monarch’s canines still looked pretty big from where they were standing.

Jorel gestured to Monarch. “After you.”

Dylan and Grenade hesitated, but they clambered up onto Monarch’s back. Dylan leaned down, and Jorel grabbed his hands. Dylan hauled him up as Monarch lifted his wings, and they took off into the air.


	17. American Tragedy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it took me about two months, but I finally figured out how to embed links in the notes! I've updated previous chapters to have clickable links, and I'll put the previous links here in case anyone who skipped over the old links wants to see the dragons + the map of Angeles
> 
> [Here are the main 5 dragons](https://tiredauthor.tumblr.com/post/186357664259/i-made-hollywood-undead-dragons-bc-i-was-bored)  
> [Here's the map of Angeles](https://tiredauthor.tumblr.com/post/187033838454/the-realm-of-angeles)  
> [And here are Nine and Dove](https://tiredauthor.tumblr.com/post/187145079824/more-dragons-for-my-fic)

It wasn’t long before Viral swooped over the sky and touched down in the Burned Out City. Danny, Lion, Jordon, and Dove hopped off his back.

Dylan looked up as Grenade tromped over to Dove. He stood, carrying a bunch of fruit in his cape. “That didn’t take long.”

“She found her way to the Plains of Everywhere,” Jordon said. “We were headed there anyway to see if it would show us where she was.”

Jorel held up his cape, which was full of vegetables. “Sorry we don’t have any meat. Our weapons aren’t exactly made for hunting.”

George kept one hand on the hilt of his sword. He sat on Monarch’s neck and hadn’t dismounted since they left the mountains. “We should figure out who’s riding with who.”

Jordon glanced at Viral. “I think we should take Jorel and Tiger. If it’s a long trip, a bigger dragon might get too heavy.”

Dylan dumped a bunch of fruit into Danny’s bag. “Works for me.” He clapped Jorel on the shoulder. “Yell if you need anything.”

He walked over to Monarch and clambered onto his back. He whistled, and Grenade flew after him. Dove followed closely behind.

Jorel tossed his vegetables into Jordon’s bag and climbed onto Viral’s back. “Let’s go.”

The others boarded their dragons. Danny pulled out his compass and stood behind George. He glanced down at George, a little nervous since he wouldn’t take his hand off his weapon, but Danny took a deep breath and pointed to the sky. “We’re going southwest.”

George turned Monarch in the direction Danny was pointing. “Here?”

Danny nodded. “Yep. Let’s go.”

Monarch spread his wings and took off. Jordon exchanged a hesitant glance with Jorel, but after a moment, Viral launched into the air after him.

* * *

A couple hours into the flight, Dylan started to get bored.

He walked up and down Monarch’s back multiple times while Dove and Grenade squawked back and forth with each other. Danny hadn’t left George’s side because he was still navigating, and Lion hadn’t moved from her spot either. He had no one to talk to.

Jorel seemed to share his sentiment. He lied across Viral’s back, swinging his legs and staring at the clouds. He seemed calm despite the height. Tiger had twined around one of Viral’s ridges and closed her eyes. Jordon was focused on looking at the ground with his goggles.

Dylan turned to Jorel. “Hey Jay!”

Jorel looked up at him. “What?”

“I’m bored!”

“Me too!”

“You wanna play I Spy?”

Jorel shrugged. “Sure.”

Dylan looked around. “Uh... I spy something blue.”

Jorel pointed to George’s cape. “George?”

“No.”

“The sky.”

“That’s mostly orange now.”

“Monarch.”

Dylan sighed. “Yeah.” He sat down on Monarch’s back. “How long has it been?”

Jorel dug into his pocket and pulled out a pocket watch. He flipped it open. “About two hours.”

Dylan groaned. “Have we even left the Swan’s Nest yet?”

“Yep,” Jordon called. He pointed at the ground. “We’re above water now.”

“We’ll set down for a bit as soon as we reach the Land of the Dead,” George said. “Well go in jumps of about six hours. We’ll pass over the wing and take another break on the head before making one last jump to the Tragedy Isles.”

Jordon raised an eyebrow over his goggles. “The wing?”

Danny turned his book around so it was facing Viral. “You probably can’t see it from here, but the Land of the Dead is shaped like a bird! We’re making a beeline, so we’ll be going over its wing and cutting across the head.”

Dylan heaved a great sigh. “Fifteen more hours.”

“We would go faster if we could,” George shouted. “Be patient.”

* * *

Jorel looked down at the passing land. He glanced at his watch. “Hey, it’s been six hours!”

“Yep,” Danny said. “Let’s land!”

Monarch and Viral swooped down to the ground. They’d passed over a variety of things- old ruins, forests, and a few mountains, but now they were flying over a large area of sand that lined the sea. They approached the shore and gently lowered themselves to the ground. The sun was now a very small semicircle on the horizon, casting a dim red glow over the water.

George scanned the beach. A few dragons scattered around the shore stared up at Monarch with wide eyes. One dragon nudged her hatchlings away from the newcomers.

Danny stood up. “We’re just stopping by to rest! Don’t mind us!”

The dragons all gazed at them for a moment. Some of them shook their heads and returned to lying in the sand and playing in the water. Others scampered away from the shore and ran down the beach.

George stood up on Monarch’s back and stretched. “Let me know when you two are ready,” he said to Monarch.

Jordon hopped off Viral’s back. There were so many dragons there, it was hard to believe that they had just been in a place where all the dragons were abandoning their eggs and being forced to join a dragon army. He spotted a dragon with red eyes digging a divot in the sand. It nudged an egg into the small hole and pushed sand over it.

Danny flipped through his book. “This place is nice.”

George shuddered. “I don’t know. I get the feeling we’re not exactly welcome here.” He still hadn’t removed his hand from the pommel of his sword. Jordon wondered if it was a habit of his.

Dylan snorted as a dragon walked up to him and nudged his hand. “Really? Everyone seems pretty friendly to me.” He scratched the dragon on the head and it purred.

Monarch turned his head to the wind and growled. George nodded in response. “Yeah. This land is home to the Imperial’s Keep. I’m pretty sure it doesn’t like having such a big intruder on its ground.”

Viral glanced up at the sky as if he expected a Monarch-sized dragon to crash down and start a fight. Jordon patted his side. “Don’t worry buddy, we’ll leave soon.”

Jordon gazed into the sky. The sun had begun to set, and the sky faded into a light orange. It was hard to believe that just that morning, they had followed a near stranger into a dark forest and almost died.

He shivered as he remembered what the Grove of Loss felt like. The darkness seemed to want to drown him. Voices called his name from the trees, but he couldn’t see anything. All he did was follow the faintly glowing butterfly on the back of George’s cloak and hope they would find Jorel and Aron.

They found Jorel, but George got swept away in the darkness soon after. Dylan had to carry Jorel through the whole forest since he was unconscious. Jordon got a few scratches on his arms, but nothing that bled too much. George was much worse when they finally found him. Jordon wished he had stuck with George. Maybe he could have helped if he hadn’t lost sight of him.

Jordon felt a hand on his shoulder. “You okay?”

He jumped in surprise and turned around. George stood behind him, his brow furrowed in concern.

Jordon nodded. “Yeah. Just lost in thought.” He examined George’s face. “You’re still pale. Can I check your wounds?”

George held out his arms. “Sure.”

Jordon carefully unwrapped the bandages. Some blood had leaked through, and Jordon shoved the used bandages into his bag to throw away later.

He examined George’s arms. A long red line of dried blood trailed down each wrist, and George hissed in pain when Jordon pressed on one of the wounds. The smaller cuts had scabbed over, so hopefully they wouldn’t reopen.

Jordon reached into his bag and grabbed a cloth and his canteen. “Yo Jorel! Come down here! I wanna check your wounds!”

Jorel slid off Viral’s back and landed in the sand. Tiger was curled around his torso with her head on his shoulder, and he kept a hand on her head as he walked over to Jordon. He seemed a lot more protective of Tiger since the events in the Grove of Loss that morning.

Jordon wet the cloth with his canteen and carefully cleaned the dried blood off George’s wrists. “These are gonna leave some scars,” he muttered.

George shrugged. “I’ve been through worse.”

Jordon grabbed a roll of bandages from his bag and wrapped up George’s wrists. “Alright Jorel, gimme your arms.”

As Jordon tore through the ends of the bandages and tied them in place, Jorel rolled up his sleeves and held out his arms. Jordon turned to him and untangled the slightly bloodied bandages. “I’ll check on them again next time we set down.”

Tiger sniffed at the dried blood on Jorel’s wrists and whined. “I’m fine,” he said. “Don’t worry.” He winced as Jordon wiped the dried blood away.

“I mean, you’re not really fine,” Jordon said as he wiped the blood away. “You almost died this morning, and you thought Tiger was gone, and Aron ended up being an asshole even though he wasn’t the dragon rider. You’ve had a pretty eventful day, man.”

Jorel rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I’m aware.”

Jordon tore two strips of bandages off the roll and wrapped them around Jorel’s arms. “Yo Viral, we almost good to go?”

Viral looked up from the water, a fish tail sticking out of his mouth. He swallowed the fish and nodded.

Jordon tied the bandages in place. “Okay, let’s head out.”

* * *

Jordon lowered his goggles over his face and stared up at the sky. The sun had finished setting hours ago, and now the stars and the moon were the only sources of light.

Jorel had seated himself closer to Viral’s tail this time. Throughout the next few hours of their flight, he kept drifting off to sleep only to shake himself awake a minute later. Eventually he let himself stay asleep, with Tiger twined around his shoulders and one of Viral’s ridges to keep him secure while he napped.

Danny and Dylan had both fallen asleep on Monarch’s back. Danny fell asleep while he was reading his book, and Dylan had taken the book and put it away so it didn’t fall off Monarch while they were flying. Then Dylan had leaned against Grenade and closed his eyes, so Jordon assumed he fell asleep not long after that.

George and Jordon were the only ones left awake. It was hard to see George from this distance, but he still looked pale. There was no use telling him to sleep, because Jordon knew that he wouldn’t rest while Monarch was flying.

He wondered why George insisted on staying awake while flying. Maybe he was just so dedicated to the whole “hero” thing that he wanted to see everything through to the end. Or maybe he just didn’t need to sleep since he’d been hibernating for a thousand years.

Jordon was interrupted in his thoughts when he heard George’s voice shouting at him from Monarch.

“Hey!” George yelled. “Do you know how long we’ve been flying?”

Jordon shrugged. “Jorel has the watch, and he’s asleep. It looks like it’s past midnight, so we can probably set down in another few hours.”

George nodded. Jordon stared at him, unable to shake the image of George’s glowing eyes from his mind.

They were both silent for a moment before a question rose in Jordon’s mind.

He took his goggles off and shoved them in his bag. “Hey George? How did you choose us to be heroes?”

George furrowed his brow. “Not sure what you mean.”

“Like, did you see the future before you went into hibernation and choose us then? Did you somehow know who we all were as soon as you woke up and decided that we would be heroes? How does it work?”

Monarch snorted, and George rolled his eyes at whatever it was that he said. “It’s not his fault he doesn’t know.” He turned back to Jordon. “I could see what was happening on Sunset while we were asleep. It was like I was dreaming, but I knew it was real. I could see every person on Sunset going about their lives.”

Jordon tensed. “And... you saw my life?”

“Parts of it, probably. I wasn’t focused on you, though. Dylan was the first out of you all to be dragon companion, but that’s not my story to tell. He was the first one I chose, and Danny was next. Then it was Aron, but I couldn’t see him anymore after a while, and now I guess I know why,” he scoffed. “Fucking asshole. Then it was the other hero, but he bailed too. No idea where he is. Then it was Jorel, and you were the last.” He shrugged. “Honestly, you just kinda popped up outta nowhere. I still needed another hero, and I saw a guy flying around on a dragon wearing a pair of goggles, and I figured you’d make a decent hero.”

Jordon blinked. “I appeared out of nowhere?”

“Well, I didn’t pay attention to everyone’s lives,” George said. “I probably saw you at some point, but I don’t remember. All I know is that I was cycling through everyone in my head and I saw you and thought ‘shit, he seems cool’. And here you are.”

Jordon nodded. “Cool.” He silently breathed a sigh of relief. George had no idea who he used to be before he was a companion. He wanted to keep it that way.

“You look tired,” George said. “You can sleep, you, know.”

Jordon shrugged. “I’m not that tired.”

That was kind of a lie. Jordon had been awake all day, and he could already feel a yawn welling up in his throat.

George turned back to the front. “Go to sleep, man. You need your rest.”

“You sure?”

George shrugged. “Yeah. Have a nap. I’ll wake you up when we land.”

“Okay. Good night, then.” Jordon leaned back against the ridge behind him and closed his eyes. It wasn’t long before he began to drift off to sleep.

* * *

“We’re here.”

Jordon opened his eyes. The sky above him was orange. He sat up and glanced around. Viral and Monarch stood on a beach covered in what looked like the remains of thousands of fire pits. Viral’s chest heaved beneath Jordon.

Jordon swung his legs over Viral’s side. “Where are we?” The air was warm despite the fact that the sun hadn’t fully risen yet.

George hopped off Monarch, a grin on his face. “Welcome to the Tragedy Isles.”

Jordon landed in the ashy sand. “I told you to wake me when we landed for a break.”

George shrugged. “We didn’t. Monarch asked Viral if he needed to set down, and Viral said he could power through it until we got to the Isles.”

Dylan looked around the beach with wide eyes. “Whoa. I didn’t think it would be all ashy.”

Danny was already flipping through his book. “Well, this place is mostly covered in volcanoes. Makes sense that there would be remains from eruptions here.”

Jordon turned his gaze upward. The beach sloped up into a small ledge, and he spotted a few rocky peaks poking up in the distance.

He patted Viral’s side. “This is your homeland, buddy.”

Viral sniffed at the sand. He lifted his head and stared up at the mountains. He made an odd sound in his throat.

“He seems a little apprehensive,” Danny translated. “He’s never been to the Isles before.”

“Well, neither have any of us,” Jorel commented. He and Tiger slid off Viral’s back. “We should figure out where to go first before we run head-first into a volcano.”

“Sounds good to me,” Dylan said. He sat down in the ashy sand. Dove and Grenade flopped down next to him. “Danny, tell us where to go!”

Danny turned a few pages in his book as he leaned against Monarch. “Well, I have no idea where the dragon rider is. He could be anywhere. I think it’s safe to say he’s not at Hell Mountain, because that’s a very active volcano. The Loner’s Sinkhole seems dangerous, too.” He squinted at the page. “But we could go to Jack’s Cup. It’s a big valley at the base of a volcano that’s filled with lava. It’s basically a hot spring for fire dragons. We could go there and see if he’s trying to get some fire dragons for his army.”

George kept a hand on the hilt of his sword. “Anywhere else?”

“The Sleeping City is just a bunch of ruins, so that probably won’t be of any help.” His eyes widened. “The Beach of Spilled Blood is where most of the humans from a thousand years ago died. We could go see it. The Valley of the Shadow of Death doesn’t seem that promising, though. Apparently, most dragons avoid that place.”

Jordon shrugged. “I think it sounds interesting. If he’s trying to avoid us, that might be a good place for him to go.”

Danny nodded. “Fair point. The West Side Volcano and the Canyon of Glory don’t seem like places he’d go, unless there are a shit ton of undead soldiers at the bottom of the canyon. I’m not sure what the Mouth Burning Chasm is, but it doesn’t sound pleasant.”

Dylan stood up and walked over to Danny. He looked over Danny’s shoulder at the book. “The Dead Angel Geysers sound depressing.”

“I don’t think we should go there,” Danny said. “Might be too dangerous. We shouldn’t go to Bullet’s Edge, and the Levitating Creek probably won’t be helpful either. It’s just a stream of lava going across this long rocky bridge leading from Recourse Peak to the Land of the Weak.” He flipped a page. “The Mother of Murder is a big spire near one of the southern mountains, and the Blocked Boulevard is around there somewhere.”

Dylan pointed to the book. “What about the Smashed Ruins?”

“We could go there,” Danny said. “The Massacre Mausoleum and the Street of Dreams are both in the ruins, so we could visit those while we’re there.”

Jordon scanned the sky. “Is there anywhere like the Plains of Everywhere? You know, a magic place that could tell us exactly where the dragon rider is?”

Danny flipped through a couple pages. “Not that I can see. Some of them seem to be magical, but none of them will show us where this guy is. We could just visit every place on the map and hope we bump into him.”

Jorel furrowed his brow as he stared up at the volcano peaks beyond the beach. “I don’t think we need to,” he muttered. He pointed up at the mountains. “Look.”

Every dragon and their companion followed Jorel’s gaze up to the mountains. Jordon didn’t quite know what Jorel wanted them to see at first, but then he noticed something white at the top of one of the mountains. He thought it might have been the rider’s new dragon for a moment, but then he noticed that it wasn’t moving.

Danny flipped through his book. “It’s not supposed to be white up there. That’s a volcano.”

George turned to Jordon. “The rider has a snow dragon now, right?”

Jordon shrugged. “I think so. Its eyes were white, and it was spitting ice.”

George climbed back onto Monarch. “Let’s check it out.”

Dylan, Dove, and Grenade all scrambled back onto Monarch as he spread his wings. Monarch launched into the air, and Jordon and Jorel hopped back onto Viral and flew after them.

“What do you think that is?” Jorel asked.

Jordon shrugged. “Guess we’ll find out.”

They approached the mountain. Jordon gazed at the ground below and saw dragons milling about, flying from mountain to mountain and hopping around in groups. A few dragons shot up to their level and stared at Monarch and Viral as they passed.

It barely took a minute to reach the volcano. They landed on the side, Monarch and Viral clinging to the rock to keep themselves from sliding off.

Danny looked over Monarch’s side at the mountain. “I don’t get it,” he said. He pointed down at some long black divots in the rock. “This should be an active volcano. That should be lava, but it looks like it’s cooled down.”

George stared up at the peak. “I think that’s why.”

Monarch took off again and Danny yelped in surprise. Viral leaped up the mountain after him.

They stopped just below the top of the mountain. Jorel looked down and gulped. “Can we go back down soon?”

Jordon leaned past the ridge in front of him to look at the top of the volcano. “Uh, is there supposed to be ice on a volcano?”

Sticking out of the peak of the mountain, where lava would normally burst from, was a huge spiky icicle. It plugged up the mountain, and water streamed from its sides and poured down the mountain. Jordon watched as a small stream of water dribbled over a hardened river of lava.

“He’s definitely been here,” Danny said.

“But what’s he trying to accomplish here?” Dylan said. “The opposite of global warming?”

Jorel shot him a confused look. “What the fuck is global warming?”

Dylan waved his hand dismissively. “I forgot we don’t have that here. But what is he trying to do?”

Jordon scanned the mountaintops around them. Some of them were capped with white as well. A few dragons fluttered around one of the iced peaks and breathed fire on it. Living in a place like this, Jordon was pretty sure they hadn’t seen ice before.

“I’m not sure,” George muttered. “But whatever it is, I don’t think it’s very good. These are fire dragons. They’re not made for ice.”

Dylan nodded. “We’ve gotta track him down.”

Danny shut his book. “Well, if he’s plugging up volcanoes with ice, I think he’d probably go to the biggest volcano here.” He pulled out his compass and examined it for a moment. He pointed. “Hell Mountain. It’s just that way. It’s pretty big. Lots of fire and light dragons gather around there.”

Jordon looked where Danny was pointing. A large peak sat in the far distance. It was barely visible, so he put his goggles on and twisted the knob on the side. It was still difficult to see, but he could have sworn he saw a bit of white at the tip of the mountain.

He took his goggles off his eyes and set them on his forehead. “Let’s go then.”


	18. Been To Hell

The air got warmer as they flew closer to the volcano. Jordon kept his gaze on the ground through the entire flight. Plenty of dragons milled about below them, diving into volcanoes and chasing each other between mountains.

Jorel lowered his hood. “It’s getting hot,” he said.

Jordon nodded. “Yeah, no shit. This place is covered in volcanoes.”

He stared up at Hell Mountain as it grew closer. It really was big. Jordon could barely see the top from where they were.

“We’re landing!” George shouted. Monarch dived down, and Viral lurched after him.

Monarch and Viral lowered themselves onto the ground at the base of the volcano. It towered over them, and Jordon saw waves of heat rolling through the air. The land around them was mostly black and orange rock, forming cliffs and ledges in the ground.

Danny reached up and unbuttoned his cloak. “Ugh. I feel like I’m melting.” He folded it up and put it in his bag.

Dylan fanned himself with his hand. “Yeah, I’m not liking this either.” He rummaged around in his pocket. He pulled out a ribbon and swept his hair away from his face. “Maybe I should get a haircut,” he mumbled, tying his hair back.

Jordon lowered his goggles over his face and looked up at the volcano. “The peak is sort of white,” he said. “And if this one is active, there would probably be more lava around here.”

George hopped off Monarch and drew his sword. “I think some of this black rock is cooled lava.” He tapped it with his blade. “Either this place hasn’t erupted in a while, or someone dumped a shit ton of water here.”

Jordon watched as a dragon settled on the ice at the top. It opened its mouth, and to his surprise, a small icicle shot from its throat and froze to the mountain.

He lifted his goggles and turned to the others. “There are dragons up there trying to freeze the mountain shut.”

George hopped back onto Monarch. He picked up the reins. “Then let’s go after them.”

Monarch pushed off and ran up the mountain. Viral spread his wings and flew after him. Monarch’s paws pounded against the rock, and Viral struggled to keep up.

Monarch stopped near the top and Viral landed next to him. They dug their claws into the rock to keep themselves from sliding down, and Jordon clutched one of Viral’s ridges do he wouldn’t fall. Now that they were closer, it was easier to see what was going on. Dragons darted around the peak, blowing streams of snowy breath among the icicles stuck in the rock.

“What the fuck should we do?” Danny asked.

“I don’t think we should hurt them,” Jorel said. “They’re being controlled. They don’t know what they’re doing.”

A squawk echoed through the air. They all looked up and saw a dragon standing on one of the larger icicles. It stared down at them with cold white eyes as it opened its mouth and screeched again. Snow dragons gathered around it and followed its gaze down to the five heroes and their dragons.

Jordon watched as the dragons hovered in the air above them. “You guys think this is a good time to fight?”

Jorel grabbed his spear off his back. “I think we don’t have a choice.”

The dragons all shrieked at once and dived off the mountain. Monarch and Viral shot off the side of the mountain, just narrowly avoiding the flock of dragons.

Jordon turned around to face the dragons. He hung onto one of Viral’s ridges as he drew a revolver from his belt. “Anyone see the rider anywhere?”

Jorel scanned the sky around them. There was no sign of the dragon rider or his large white dragon.

“Nope,” he said.

“Should we take them down?” Danny asked.

A dragon shot towards him and he yelped. He raised his crossbow. An arrow tore through the dragon’s wing, and it careened to the side.

“Only if you have to!” George shouted. He ducked as a dragon snapped at his head. He tugged on Monarch’s reins and they tilted upwards towards the clouds. Half the dragons broke off and flew after them.

Viral ducked between two volcanoes and circled back toward Hell Mountain. “Should we try melting the ice?” Jordon asked.

“That might just get water in the volcano,” Jorel pointed out. “I don’t know if it’ll make much of a difference because there’s probably a lot more lava than ice, but still.”

Jordon shrugged. He raised his revolver and shot at a dragon that had almost caught up to them. A bullet thudded into its leg and it fell behind. “It’s better than just flying away.”

Viral opened his mouth as they got closer to the mountain. A stream of fire blew from his throat and washed over the ice. It steamed from the heat, and water dribbled down the side of the rock.

They passed over the opening of the volcano and Jorel was hit with a wave of heat. Lava bubbled far below them, sizzling as water dripped into the mountain.

“Holy shit,” he muttered.

A dragon dashed toward them with its teeth bared. It was a bit bigger than the others, maybe half Viral’s size. It snapped at Viral, and Viral screeched when its jaws closed on his leg. He shook his leg in an attempt to dislodge it, but it grinded its teeth and Viral squeaked. He shook his entire body and the dragon finally released his leg. Jorel yelped as Viral moved beneath him. His feet slipped, and he heard Jordon shout his name as he toppled off Viral’s back and plummeted toward the lava below.

He was barely falling for a second when he felt something crash into him. He felt an arm under his knees and another one on his back. It took him a moment to register that Dylan had flown by on Grenade and caught him before he could fall into the volcano. Grenade stopped and hovered above the volcano.

It took Jorel a moment to realize that Tiger wasn’t around his shoulders anymore. He glanced around frantically. He heard the leathery flapping of tiny wings, and Tiger appeared next to Grenade. The two wings of hers that weren’t attached to her limbs moved up and down, suspending her in the air by the middle of her back.

Jorel sighed. “Man, I really am the damsel of the group.”

Dylan adjusted Jorel so he was sitting on Grenade’s back. “Come on then princess. Let’s get you on the ground.”

Grenade flew out of the volcano and swooped down. He passed over the ground and Jorel hopped off his back and landed on the black rock. Tiger shot toward him and curled around his shoulders.

He heard a screech and whirled around to see a dragon rushing toward him. He raised his spear just in time for its teeth to close on the iron shaft. He pushed the dragon with all his strength and it tumbled backward. It scrambled to right itself and Jorel gripped his spear, readying himself for a fight.

Something crashed down in front of him and he jumped back. A new dragon stood in front of him, facing the one that had just been about to attack him. He didn’t recognize this new dragon at all. It was about Dove’s size, and it screeched in defiance at the other dragon. It lunged forward, and the two were tangled in a fight within seconds.

He looked up. Viral was perched on the edge of Hell Mountain, blowing fire at the ice to melt it. Water dripped down the side of the mountain and pooled on the dried lava. Monarch had settled on the side of another volcano and was staring up at the sky.

Jorel followed his gaze. Dozens of dragons were locked in combat above them. Dragons with bright orange eyes darted around the snow dragons, shooting bolt after bolt of fire. Yellow-eyed dragons flew around them, scratching at the snow dragons and squawking whenever a snow dragon made a swipe at them.

Grenade lowered himself down next to Jorel. “What’s happening?” Jorel asked.

Dylan shrugged. “Well, fire dragons are pretty territorial. I guess they felt threatened.”

Jorel raised his brow. “Does that mean they feel threatened by us?”

Dylan watched as a fire dragon sank its flaming teeth into the side of a snow dragon. “Let’s hope not,” he mumbled.

Monarch bounded down the volcano. He landed on the black ground and George slid off his back. “What’s going on?”

Dylan gestured to the sky. “They’re defending their territory. Let’s just hope they don’t think they need to defend themselves from us.”

Jorel felt the ground tremor beneath his feet. “Hey, is it just me, or is the ground shaking?” he asked.

Dylan blinked. “Didn’t Danny say this was an _active_ volcano?”

George’s eyes widened. “Oh fuck.” He sprinted back toward Monarch. “Monarch! We gotta go!” He clambered onto Monarch’s back and they took off toward the clouds.

Dylan held out his hand. Jorel took it and Dylan hauled him onto Grenade’s back. Grenade spread his wings, and they launched into the air. They made a beeline for Viral, dodging fighting dragons along the way. Jorel’s stomach dropped every time Grenade ducked to avoid a dragon’s claws or a plume of fire.

They stopped in front of Viral, who had stopped breathing fire on the ice and was now staring down at the ground with concern. “Yo Charlie!” Dylan shouted. “Danny said this place is an active volcano, and we think it might be about to blow!”

Jordon glanced behind him at the opening in the mountain. The lava bubbled and heat rolled from the volcano in waves. And was it just his imagination, or was the lava getting closer?

He tapped Viral’s side. “Hey buddy? I think we should go.”

Viral followed his gaze to the bubbling lava below. He squeaked in alarm and leaped off the mountain, Jordon clutching one of his ridges in hopes that he wouldn’t get thrown off. Viral flapped his wings and soared into the air. He ducked as a dragon darted for his face, and Jordon held on tighter.

Jorel stared up at the fighting dragons as he and Dylan flew after Viral. “Are they going to be okay?”

Dylan shrugged. “Not sure. The fire dragons, maybe, but I doubt the snow dragons would survive a volcano.”

The snow dragons seemed to realize this at the same time they did. They began to break away from the fire dragons and flee toward the clouds. They crashed into each other and screeched as they hurried away.

Monarch broke the clouds. Grenade darted after him, and Viral followed close behind. They hovered in the air and watched as the flock of snow dragons fled.

Jorel heard rumbling below them. “Uh, how far should we go from the volcano to make sure we don’t die a fiery death?” he asked.

George glanced down. “Not sure, but we should probably go somewhere else just in case. We could follow the snow dragons, or-”

He stopped midsentence when another dragon flew through the clouds. He tugged on the reins and Monarch backed away as a dragon Viral’s size rose up to their level. Its orange hide glittered in the morning sun, and it glared at them with eyes that matched the shade of its scales.

Jordon gulped. “Um... anyone know who that is?”

The dragon flapped its wings and flew over to Viral. Viral squeaked and leaned away, but it just sniffed at his neck. It stared at Jordon for a moment before backing away and making a few odd noises in its throat.

George turned to Danny. “What is it saying?”

Danny shrugged. “I think she’s curious, but she also seems... weirdly happy to see Viral? You think that’s Viral’s mom or something?”

George shook his head. “Don’t think so.”

The ground rumbled again, and a plume of smoke floated up between the clouds. The dragon glanced at the smoke. She made another sound in her throat and backed away, still gazing at Viral.

“She wants us to follow her,” Danny said.

A few more dragons darted up through the clouds. Each one had either bright orange or yellow eyes. Some of them had bloody claws and teeth from fighting the snow dragons, and they all gazed up at the five dragons and their companions.

The dragon turned and flew in the opposite direction. Some of the other dragons flew after her, but the rest of them squawked at Viral and stared at him like they were expecting something.

“They’re definitely curious,” Danny said. “They don’t see us as a threat, but I’m pretty sure they’ve never seen humans before.”

Another plume of smoke curled up through the clouds. Dylan furrowed his brow. “Hey Danny? How many of these volcanoes are active?”

Danny opened his book and flipped through a couple pages. His eyes widened. “Most of them.” He snapped the book shut and shoved it back into his bag. “We should probably get going!”

George raised Monarch’s reins, and Monarch lurched after the orange dragon. Viral and Grenade zipped after him.

Dylan glanced at the ground below. Another one of the volcanoes had started bubbling, and heat wafted into the sky. He felt Jorel tense up in front of him as the two of them stared at the ground. Dylan put a hand on Jorel’s shoulder in an attempt to reassure him that he wouldn’t fall.

They descended below the clouds and followed the orange dragon through the smoky sky. Dylan glanced behind him at Hell Mountain. Lava had begun pouring over the sides, but as he watched, a small spout of lava exploded from the mountain. Drops splattered everywhere. Dylan’s eyes widened as a stray glob just narrowly missed Monarch’s tail.

A drop of lava shot toward Viral and he dodged it at the last second. “Where is she leading us?” Jordon shouted.

“Not sure!” Danny responded. He pulled out his compass. “We’re going kind of northwest, I think!”

Dylan watched as the orange dragon ahead of them landed on a mountain peak. Other dragons flocked around her and settled on the rock.

“Is that far enough away that we won’t get burned alive?” George shouted.

“Guess we’ll have to risk it!” Dylan said.

They swooped down below the clouds. Monarch dug his claws into the rock of a smaller mountain and curled around it, his head resting on the peak. Grenade landed on his back, and Viral perched on another mountain next to Monarch’s.

The dragon turned to Monarch and squawked. Her tail twitched and she tilted her head.

Danny scratched his neck. “Uh, I think she’s asking who we are and why we’re here. She seems really confused about us.”

George turned to face the dragon. “We’re dragon companions. We’re here because we’re heroes who were chosen to save the world. There’s another companion we’re chasing who’s trying to use dragons to kill dragons, and we’re trying to stop him. We don’t mean to intrude on your territory, we just need to find this dragon rider.”

The dragon blinked at them. She turned to one of the other dragons and grunted. The other dragon huffed in response.

The orange dragon turned back to the five of them and made some weird sounds in her throat. Danny looked her up and down. She didn’t seem to think they were hostile, which was a relief. She definitely seemed curious, and so did the others.

“They’re fine with us,” Danny said. “I think they want to know more about us.”

The dragon nodded once. She turned around and spread her wings. She glanced back at them one last time and grunted before lifting off and soaring through the air.

“She wants us to follow her,” Danny said.

George stared after the dragon. “Let’s go then.”

He tugged on the reins and Monarch launched after the dragon. Viral risked one last glance at the exploding volcano behind them and then took off after Monarch.


	19. Comin' In Hot

Jorel glanced down at the passing ground as they flew. “Where do you think she’s leading us?”

George shrugged. “Not sure. Danny? You have any idea?”

Danny glanced from his compass to his map. “Uh, we’re going north, but other than that, I’m not sure.” He glanced at the ground. “Wait, I think that’s Loner’s Sinkhole!” He flipped through his book. “So if we’re here, then... I think we’re going to Jack’s Cup!”

“Why is she taking us there?” Jordon shouted from Viral. He took his goggles and put them over his eyes. The ground below was riddled with volcanoes, but dragons flew around them, seemingly unbothered by the sweltering heat.

“Not sure,” Danny said. “Guess we’ll find out.”

Jordon turned his gaze to the orange dragon ahead of them. A flock of smaller dragons flew around her as he soared through the sky. He wondered if she was their leader. It definitely seemed like it.

She dipped behind a mountain and the rest of the dragons followed her. George and Jordon exchanged an apprehensive glance, but their dragons dived down after her.

Monarch settled on the ground and Viral stumbled to a halt next to him. Viral puffed out his chest, proud of his slightly-better-than-usual landing.

Jordon patted his side. “Nice job, buddy.” He set his goggles on his forehead and looked up at the land around them. They had landed in a huge, flat area. Larger mountains poked up out of the ground all around them.

George turned to the orange dragon, who was sitting in front of them. “Why are we here?”

The orange dragon sniffed and turned toward the mountains. She trotted over to them, and the rest of the dragons followed her.

Danny shut his book. “Guess it’s through the mountains.”

George raised his reins and Monarch followed after her. Viral saw that Monarch was leaving and lunged after him, slowing down once he was jogging next to Monarch.

The orange dragon slipped between two mountains. Monarch squeezed through after her, followed by Viral. They stopped when they saw where the dragon had led them.

The orange dragon trotted down the slanted ground. The ground dipped down into a huge valley that was big enough to hold tons of Monarchs. The whole valley was filled with lava, and dragons with orange eyes splashed through it as if it was water.

The orange dragon glanced at Monarch and flicked her tail toward something on the other side of the valley. Monarch craned his neck to look at it.

“What is it?” Danny asked.

“Another valley,” George answered. “It’s filled with water.”

The orange dragon chirped and sat down next to the lava pool. Instead of Danny translating, Monarch huffed and George repeated what he had said. “She wants us to explain more about this dragon rider so she can see if she can help. She figured this would be a good place for us to relax while she discusses things with Viral.”

The orange dragon turned and dived headfirst into the lava. Monarch skittered backwards to avoid being splashed.

She poked her head out of the pool and grunted. She gestured to the water pool with her head.

Jordon looked down at Viral. “You wanna go swimming in lava, buddy?”

Viral shifted. He glanced at Monarch, then back at the orange dragon. He seemed uncertain.

Jordon slid off Viral’s back and walked over to Monarch. “It’s okay, man. You’re a fire dragon. You’re lava-proof. This is where you’re supposed to be.”

Viral stepped forward and lowered his head to the lava. He sniffed at it, then tentatively dipped his paw in. When it didn’t burn to a crisp, he slowly waded into the pool. Fire dragons gathered around and sniffed at him. The orange dragon nudged him and purred.

Jordon clambered onto Monarch’s back. Monarch lowered himself to the ground, and Jorel wobbled on his back. “What are we-?”

He yelped and grabbed Dylan’s arm as Monarch launched off the ground and leaped over the pool of lava. His paws thudded on the ground on the other side. He lied down to let everyone off his back.

Dylan and Jorel slid off Monarch’s back together. Dove poked her head over the side and whimpered. Grenade jumped down and squawked at her, and she jumped off, following the sound of his voice.

Jordon hopped down and George followed. Steam rose from the water in the valley, and dragons with yellow eyes dived in and splashed around.

Jordon knelt next to the water and dipped his hand in. The water was much less hot than he thought. It was pleasantly warm, despite the fact that lava bubbled in another pool right across from it.

Dylan walked up next to him and stuck his hand in the pool. “Huh. It’s warm.” He backed up and unbuttoned his cloak. “Well, I’m going swimming.”

Danny raised an eyebrow as Dylan started pulling off his shirt. “Just at least keep your pants on, okay?”

“Yeah yeah, whatever.” He kicked off his boots and tossed his shirt on the ground. He took a running start and dived in. Jorel flinched as water splashed up at the rest of them.

Dylan swam to the surface and flipped his ponytail, spraying water in an arc and soaking George from head to toe. “Come on in!” Dylan shouted. “The water’s nice!”

Jorel turned to Danny. “Is the water acidic or anything? Magic? Dangerous?”

Danny brought out his book and skimmed a page. “Nope. Totally safe.”

Jorel shrugged. “Alright then.” He unclasped his cloak and tossed it next to Dylan’s.

Danny shoved his book back in his bag. “Might as well. We haven’t bathed in days.” He glanced up at Lion, who was still on Monarch’s back. “You coming?”

Lion peered down at the water. She squeaked and slid off Monarch’s back. Grenade trotted up to the water with an excited squawk and jumped in, sending up another splash. Dove chirped and hopped after him.

Tiger jumped off Jorel’s shoulders and landed next to the water. She stuck her nose in and then brought it back out. She snorted.

“You can’t breathe underwater, Tiger,” Jorel said. He pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it next to his cloak.

Dylan narrowed his eyes at Jorel. “Where are all your tattoos?”

Jorel stood on one foot to take off his boot. “What? Dude, I don’t have any. That shit’s painful, and it takes forever.”

Dylan blinked. “Oh. Right, sorry. Maybe I just got you mixed up with someone else.”

“Whatever, man.” Jorel set his boots on the ground and stepped into the water. “Damn, it is nice.” He turned back to Danny and Jordon. “Are you guys coming in or what?”

Jordon watched as Lion waded into the pool. Other light dragons paddled up to her and grunted in greeting. “I don’t know. I feel like I shouldn’t be here.”

Danny tossed his bag to the side. “Well, you can stay out here with Monarch, then.” He sat down to untie his boots.

Monarch snorted. He stepped into the water and waded in until his feet left the ground. Light dragons swam away from him to make room.

George walked up to Jordon and stood next to him as Danny threw his shirt with the rest of his stuff and ran for the water. He jumped off the edge and cannonballed right between Jorel and Dylan, who both ended up with a face full of water.

“Are you okay, man?” George asked. “You seem off.”

Jordon shrugged. “Guess I’m just a little tired of everything that’s been happening. We’ve been chasing this dragon rider for three days straight.”

“Four days, if you count today,” George added.

Jordon nodded. “Yeah. It’s been a while.”

“And now we’re getting some time to relax,” George pointed out. “Come on. Let’s go swimming.”

George took off his cloak and tossed it on the ground next to Danny’s bag. Jordon stared out at the water as George took off his shirt.

He heard a deep rumble and turned around. Viral had swam up to the edge of the lava pool and rested his head on the ground. The orange dragon floated behind him. Both of them gazed at Jordon like they were expecting something.

Jordon sat down on the ground. “Go have fun, Viral.”

Viral grunted. He glanced at the orange dragon, then back at Jordon. He let out a whine.

“I’m fine, Viral,” he said. “Go swim.”

He heard a splash and flinched as water crashed down in front of him. He turned back to the water pool and saw George swimming up to the surface. “Come on, man,” he called. “The water’s warm. Even Tiger’s swimming.”

He gestured to Tiger, who was slithering through the water like a snake with her wings spread. She flapped once as she passed Dylan, sending water splashing up into his face.

Jordon sighed. “I don’t know.”

Jorel winced. “Ow. What the...?” He raised his arm. Blood leaked out from the bandages on his wrist, mingling with the water streaming down his skin.

Jordon sighed. He should have warned them that the warm water could loosen the scabs and reopen the wounds. He stood up and kicked off his boots. “Let me see.”

He tossed his cloak to the ground and waded into the water. The ground made a sharp decline right off the edge, but it was still flat enough that he could stand straight up. Jorel swam closer until he could touch the ground and held out his arm.

“You’re already halfway in, homie,” Dylan pointed out as Jordon untied Jorel’s bandages. “Just jump in!”

“Not now, Funny,” he said. He carefully peeled the bandages off Jorel’s wrist. He grimaced at the long wound on Jorel’s arm.

Tiger swam up to Jorel. She crawled up his leg and climbed onto his back. She whined as Jordon gently pressed on the wound.

“I’m fine,” Jorel reassured her. “Don’t worry.”

Jordon examined the wound. It didn’t seem too serious. The bleeding would stop after a few minutes, but swimming in hot water would probably sting.

He wrung out the bandages and wrapped them around Jorel’s wrists again. “It’s gonna sting, but it’ll be fine. Just take it easy.”

Jorel nodded. “Thanks.” With that, he leaned backward and flopped into the water.

George looked up at Jordon. “You’re practically already swimming. Come on.” He swam closer. “I know you said you feel like you shouldn’t be here,” he said quietly, “but if Viral belongs here, then you do too.” He pointed to Monarch. “And if a water dragon can have fun here, you can too. You’re not intruding by being here, man. Besides, we’re going to be chasing that dragon rider again soon. This is some time that we get to relax.”

Jordon hesitated. He glanced back at Viral, who was locked in conversation with the orange dragon. He sighed. “Fine.”

He pulled his shirt over his head. He threw his bag and his shirt over with everyone else’s stuff and reluctantly stepped further into the water. “Happy?”

“Not until you have fun,” George said.

“Come on, homie!” Dylan shouted.

Jordon rolled his eyes, but he waded in so his feet could no longer touch the ground. “Okay, okay. Here I am.”

“Great!” Dylan swiped his arm through the water, sending a wave crashing into Jordon’s face.

“Hey!” Jordon yelled. He rubbed the water out of his eyes as Dylan laughed. He felt his lips twitch into a smile. “Oh, I’m gonna get you now.”

He made a beeline for Dylan. Dylan’s eyes widened. “Oh fuck!” He whirled around and frantically swam away as Jordon chased him.

George scanned the water. “Hey, where’s Jorel?”

Danny looked around. “Not sure. You think he-?”

Before he could finished his sentence, Jorel popped up from the water and grabbed Danny’s shoulders. Danny screamed and kicked out behind him. Jorel grunted and doubled over as Danny’s foot made contact with his stomach.

Danny whirled around with a hand on his chest. “Dude, don’t scare me like that!”

Jorel nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind,” he wheezed.

Monarch raised his head out of the water. He was surrounded by dozens of light dragons, all curious about the new big dragon who had decided to take a dip in their pool. _George, can we adopt these dragons?_

“You’re not adopting anyone,” George called, earning a few confused glances from Danny and Jorel.

_But George, they like me. Look, there are some hatchlings._

“And those hatchlings probably belong to other dragons,” George said. “We’re not adopting any more dragons. We already adopted Dove.”

Dove, who was been relaxing near the edge of the pool, perked up as soon as she heard her name. Her eyes twitched behind her bandages as if she was still trying to look around.

A light dragon flew over to Monarch’s nose and landed on him. _But George, I want more friends._

“We already have enough friends. Besides, we can come back once we get rid of the rider.”

Monarch huffed. _You’re no fun._

George turned to Jordon, who now had Dylan in a headlock. “Hey, you think Dove’s eyes are healed enough that we can take off the bandages?”

Jordon smile wavered a little and he let go of Dylan. “I’m not sure. I’ll check.”

He swam toward Dove. “Hey Dove? Can I check your eyes?”

Dove chirped and paddled to the edge. Jordon followed after her, and he knelt to her level as soon as they were on the ground. He reached behind her head and untied the bandages. He tugged them off her face and inhaled sharply.

“What is it?” George asked. He swam to the edge so he could take a look.

The scratches on her face were still an angry red around the edges. Pink tissue tore through the four white circles that should have been her eyes.

“The stuff I put on it a couple days ago is probably washed off by now,” Jordon said. “I can make some more. Give me a second.”

He stood up and walked over to his bag. Dylan pouted at him from the water. “You’re done swimming?”

“I’ll come back in after,” he said. He snatched his bag off the ground and walked back over to Dove. He sat down and rummaged through his bag, searching for his mortar and pestle. His hands went on autopilot, tossing in dried herbs and crushing them up into a powder. He leaned over and took some water from the pool. He flicked it into the mortar and mixed it into the powder until it turned into a paste.

“Is she okay?” Jorel asked.

“She’ll be fine,” Jordon answered. “She just might not be able to see.”

“Like, permanently?” Danny asked.

Jordon sighed. “I think that’s the case, yeah.” He scooped up some of the paste with his fingers and spread it over Dove’s eyes. “Sorry,” he said to her. “I don’t think this is something I can fix.”

Dove whimpered, and a feeling of guilt settled in Jordon’s gut. He couldn’t help but think that maybe he could have done more to heal her.

He brought out his roll of bandages, which was diminishing fast because of all the wounds everyone had suffered over the past few days. He tore off a long piece and started wrapping it around her head.

Dylan flipped his hair again, spraying Danny with a stream of water. “Should we get going soon?”

Viral turned to them and grunted. He hadn’t moved from his spot at the edge of the lava pool during his conversation with the orange dragon, but now he set his head on the ground and stared at Jordon.

Jordon tied Dove’s bandages in place. “Soon, yeah. We’re going to have to find the dragon rider at some point.”

The orange dragon squawked behind Viral. She swam up to the edge and stared down at the five heroes.

“She says she might be able to help us,” Danny said. “She seems confident in her fighting abilities, and she knows her way around this place.”

George nodded. “Good. We can use all the help we can get.”

Jordon shoved his roll of bandages in his bag. “That should be good for a few days. I’m not sure how long this will take to heal. It seems pretty serious.”

Dove grunted and shrugged her shoulders. She settled back into the water and rested her head on the ground.

Jordon glanced up at the sky to see where the sun was in the sky. He squinted, and another shape appeared in the clouds.

“Guys?” he said. “I think something’s coming.”

George looked up and squinted in the sun. “Fuck.” He swam toward the edge. “Guys, come on. It could be the rider.”

Jordon shoved his stuff back in his bag and walked back over to their pile of stuff. He snatched up his shirt and pulled it on over his head. Was that really the dragon rider? It didn’t seem likely that he would attack them with only one dragon, especially after what had recently happened on Revolution Peak with George and Monarch.

Dylan shook his head and water flew from his hair, splattering everyone else. “Are you sure that’s him?”

George put on his shirt. “I don’t know, but we should be prepared just in case.”

Danny clasped his cloak around his shoulders and grabbed his crossbow. “Lion!” he called. “We might have a problem!”

Lion looked up at him. She was surrounded by a bunch of other dragons, but she pushed through them and paddled toward the ground. Tiger squeaked and followed her. Grenade jumped out of the water and braced his legs against the ground. He shook from head to tail, showering the others in water.

Jordon kept a hand on one of his pistols as the shape in the sky grew closer. They all readied themselves for a fight, but they relaxed almost immediately. It was just a single dragon about Lion’s size. It lowered itself down to the ground near the five of them, but Jordon tensed up again when he saw blood leaking from a large gash on its side.

The dragon panted as it slowed to a stop. It looked up at the five heroes and squeaked in alarm.

Danny stepped forward and gave it a reassuring smile. “Hey. I’m Daniel Murillo. These are my friends. We’re not going to hurt you.”

He held out a hand. The dragon leaned forward and sniffed him. It seemed to determine that he was safe, because it placed its chin on his hand and purred.

Danny turned to Jordon. “You wanna check out their wound?”

Jordon stepped forward and knelt so he could take a look. He gently pushed aside the dragon’s fur. The cut was clean and straight, as if someone had swiped at it with a sharp dagger.

He reached into his bag and pulled out his mortar and pestle. “That was made by a weapon.” He glanced up at the dragon as he tossed a few herbs into the bowl. “Did a person do that?”

The dragon nodded. Danny scratched them on the head. “Where did this happen?”

The dragon squawked. Jordon heard a loud splash behind him and turned around. The orange dragon had stood up in the lava pool and walked onto land. Her hide steamed as lava dripped from her wings. She lowered her head to look at the injured dragon and grunted.

George turned to Monarch. Monarch rolled his eyes, but he huffed. “Monarch says they got hurt at the Valley of the Shadow of Death,” George translated. “They were flying by, and something whipped out and grabbed them. It looked like a dragon, but there was a person on its back with a knife.”

Danny looked up at the orange dragon. “Isn’t that place dangerous?”

The orange dragon growled and nodded. Danny studied her for a moment. “If you can lead us there, that’ll be fine. You don’t have to go in with us.”

The dragon nodded. She turned and squawked at Viral, who bounded out of the pool and walked up next to her. They exchanged a few weird noises as Monarch swam to the edge and pulled himself out of the water. He grunted at George.

George nodded. “Yeah, we’ll get going.” He glanced at Dylan and Jorel as he started walking toward his dragon. “Come on.”

Tiger hopped onto Jorel’s shoulders and he ran after George and Dylan. Danny looked at Dove as Viral quickly stepped into the water to cool himself off. “You wanna come?”

Dove grunted and didn’t move. Danny shrugged. “Alright. Suit yourself.”

Lion bounded out of the water and sat down, waiting for Viral. Danny followed her, digging his cloak out of his bag. Jorel and Dylan made their way over to Monarch, and Grenade tromped after them.

Jordon glanced at Viral, who was splashing through the water as his hide cooled. “You can stay here if you want.”

Viral scoffed and pulled himself out of the water and onto the ground. He lowered his head to let Jordon climb on.

Jordon finished up with the injured dragon’s wound and shoved his stuff into his bag. He felt bad that Viral felt obligated to come with them, but he wasn’t about to argue. He clambered onto Viral’s back. His scales were still hot, but it wasn’t so hot that it was painful.

Danny and Lion jumped on Viral’s back. “Let’s roll,” Danny said.

The orange dragon spread her wings and lifted off. Monarch took off after her, water flying off his wings. Jordon flinched as droplets rained down on them, but Viral launched into the air without hesitation and soared into the sky.


	20. Hear Me Now

The orange dragon touched down on a red rocky ledge. She turned around and squawked as Monarch and Viral swooped down next to her.

Monarch settled on the rock and George stared down at the humongous valley below them. “That’s the Valley of the Shadow of Death?”

The orange dragon grunted. She narrowed her eyes at the ground below as Danny opened his book to the page on the valley.

Smoke curled across the ground and flooded down into the valley. There didn’t seem to be any one source of the smoke- it just rose from the ground and drifted downward. It gathered in the valley in a grey cloud, obscuring their view of the rock below.

“This place is definitely dangerous,” Danny said. “It’s hard to see in there because of the smoke, but for some reason, you can’t hear in there, either. The real danger is the smoke. Staying in there for too long, you could asphyxiate and die.”

“Well, let’s hope none of us have asthma,” Dylan muttered.

Jorel raised an eyebrow. “What’s asthma?”

“Never mind that,” George said. “We’re going to have to go in, see if the rider’s there, and get the fuck out so we don’t die.’

Jorel reached in his pocket and pulled out a black strip of cloth. It was still wet from their dip in the water pool, but he tied it around his mouth and nose. “I only have one of these. Jordon? Got any cloth?”

Jordon rummaged around in his bag. “Yep. I’m using most of it to wrap food though, so we’re gonna have to eat before we go in.” He tossed a bunch of fruit wrapped in cloth over to Monarch.

Dylan caught it and unwrapped the cloth. He grabbed an apple and munched on it as he held the rest of it out to Jorel.

George reached out and caught a cloth full of vegetables that Jordon threw. He reached in and grabbed a carrot. “Hey Monarch. Hungry?”

Monarch opened his mouth. George tossed the carrot into the air. Monarch snatched it up and opened his mouth for another.

The orange dragon sniffed at Danny as he untied a cloth full of dried meat. “Want some?” he asked, holding out a piece of meat.

He tossed it to the dragon and she snapped it up. Jordon watched the smoke drift into the valley as the others ate. “I don’t think smoke is supposed to work like that.”

Danny shrugged as he tossed a few more pieces of meat to the orange dragon. “It’s magic. It does what it wants.” He tossed the last few pieces into his mouth and then tied the cloth around his lower face. “Hmm. Smells like beef jerkey.”

Dylan and George gave the rest of their food to their dragons, then tied the cloths around their faces. George slid off Monarch’s back, one hand on the pommel of his sword. “So, this is another dangerous magic place where we can’t see,” he said.

“We can’t hear, either,” Danny added as he and Lion jumped off Viral’s back. “It’ll be easy to lose each other in there.”

Jordon tied a piece of fabric over his mouth. “How are going to stick together? I don’t really want a repeat of the Grove of Loss.”

Jorel shuddered at the thought of what had just happened the day before. “Me neither.”

Dylan furrowed his brow. “Hmm.” His eyes lit up. “Here.” He grabbed Jorel’s hand and walked up to George.

Jorel blinked in confusion, but he didn’t pull away as Dylan dragged him along. “What are you doing?”

Dylan grabbed George’s hand off the pommel of his sword and twined his fingers with George’s. “We can all hold hands so we don’t get separated.”

Danny shifted. He seemed a little uncomfortable with the idea, but he walked up to Jorel and took his other hand. They both cringed a little at the contact. Tiger poked her head out of Jorel’s cloak and sniffed at their joined hands.

George looked at Jordon and held out his hand. “Come on.”

Jordon walked up to the group and took George’s hand. The five of them stared down at the valley below, a little hesitant, but Danny took a deep breath and started forward. The others followed him as he slowly slid down the rock into the smoke.

Jordon turned his head to look at their dragons. Grenade and Lion exchanged a glance, then walked up next to each other. They twined their tails together and slid down after their companions.

The orange dragon sat down on the rock, staring down at the heroes. Viral leaped over her and landed on Monarch’s back, letting out a happy squawk. Monarch huffed and rolled his eyes, but he followed Grenade and Lion into the smoke.

They slid down into the valley. Jordon wobbled a little and almost pitched forward, but he grabbed George’s arm with his free hand and steadied himself. The ground leveled out, and the others stumbled over each other. The smoke got thicker the closer they got to the bottom of the valley, and now it flooded Jordon’s vision. His eyes watered and he blinked furiously.

He heard a muffled voice say something, but he couldn’t make out what it was. He felt George’s grip on his hand tighten. He saw the faint silhouettes of the others on his left, but it was hard to make out who was who. Dylan was the one in the middle, right? Or had that been Danny?

He couldn’t hear Viral or Monarch at all. He only knew they were there because Monarch’s heavy footsteps shook the ground each time he moved.

The silence was unsettling. At least in the Grove, he’d been able to hear. Now, both his sight and hearing had abandoned him. He kept his free hand on one of the revolvers at his belt as they walked.

He felt George tug on his hand and he stumbled. “George?” Jordon said, but he could hardly hear his own voice. It sounded like he was speaking through a wall.

He almost tripped over his feet as George pulled him through the smoke. “What’s happening?” Jordon asked, but he was pretty sure no one heard him. He could barely hear himself.

He felt George’s hand slipping out of his grasp and tightened his grip. He wasn’t about to be separated from the others in this place.

Jordon took a deep breath and was plunged into a coughing fit. The smoke around them made it impossible to get any clean air in his lungs. He covered his mouth with his free hand as he followed after George.

George stopped in his tracks and Jordon almost crashed into him. He heard the faint sound of clanging metal, like a weapon hitting a shield. Was someone attacking them? Had George let go of Dylan to use his shield? Should Jordon let go of him so he could draw his sword?

Another faint clang rang through the smoke and George started running, dragging Jordon after him. Jordon fumbled for his belt and drew one of his revolvers. He couldn’t see, but if anything attacked him, at least he wouldn’t be defenceless.

He yelped as George yanked on his arm and pulled him in another direction. He stumbled across the uneven ground, and another coughing fit wracked his body. Where were they? Were they near the middle of the valley or closer to the edge? And where the fuck were their dragons?

“This was a bad idea,” he wheezed, even though he knew no one could hear him. They shouldn’t have come in here in the first place. They were obviously being attacked, but Jordon had no idea what it was or why. All he could do was follow George through the smoke and hope he wouldn’t die.

Something whipped past Jordon’s face and he flinched away, tugging on George’s arm and stopping him in his tracks. He squinted through the smoke to see what almost hit him, but nothing presented itself.

George tightened his grip on Jordon’s hand, and Jordon squeezed his hand back. He had no idea if the others were still nearby, but he wasn’t about to get separated from George and go through this place alone.

George yanked on his arm. Jordon crashed into George and heard a quiet clang of metal as George raised his shield to deflect something. He must have let go of Dylan so he could use his shield, which meant the other three were lost somewhere else in the valley.

He heard a faint coughing, and George doubled over. Jordon squeezed his hand as the fit subsided, and the two started through the smoke again.

Jordon kept a finger on the trigger of his revolver. He wasn’t sure if he’d be able to hit anything since he couldn’t see, but since George couldn’t draw his sword, he had to be their offence if anything came at them.

George started running again and Jordon dashed after him. A cough welled up in his throat, but he tried to stifle it. If something was attacking them, he couldn’t just stop running to cough. He stumbled over a patch of uneven ground. George’s hand began slipping through his fingers. In a panic, he dropped his gun and tried to grab him with his other hand, but he missed and George’s hand escaped his grasp.

Jordon stopped in his tracks. “George?” he shouted. No response.

Shit.

He took a step backwards and accidentally kicked something. He knelt down and picked up his gun, relieved that it hadn’t gotten lost in the smoke. The feeling of the weapon in his hands was a little reassuring.

Now what? He was alone in a valley full of smoke, looking for the rider and his brainwashed dragon, and he didn’t even have his own dragon with him. Viral never should have gotten dragged along on this crazy adventure in the first place. If Viral hadn’t met Jordon, he could’ve grown up on Sunset and flown to the Tragedy Isles himself. He didn’t need Jordon holding him back.

Jordon’s shoulders slumped. “George?” he called weakly. “Dylan?”

Nothing.

Jordon holstered his gun. What was he supposed to do now? Try to find the others? Try to find the rider? Try to get out of the valley?

He doubled over as a coughing fit racked his body. Maybe he should just stay here and die. Viral would be better off without him anyway.

He shook his head as the coughing subsided. No, he wasn’t going to do that.

But Viral really would be better off without him. Viral had been happy visiting with other dragons like him. He belonged here, not with Jordon.

“Shut up, me,” he muttered, even though he couldn’t hear it. He took a shallow breath, trying to keep himself from inhaling to much smoke. He couldn’t let this place get the better of him. He just had to find a way out.

Something whipped past his face and he jumped in surprise. He squinted, trying to see what had almost hit him, but something else flew past him and thudded into the ground.

He drew both of his guns. He didn’t know what was attacking him, but he wasn’t going to let it kill him.

A large silhouette loomed up from the smoke in front of him. He spotted tall ridges running down its back and breathed a sigh of relief. It was just Viral.

It got closer and lowered its head to Jordon’s level. His heart skipped a beat when the shape got close enough that he could see its bright white eyes.

That wasn’t Viral.

The dragon opened its mouth and snapped at him. He turned and started running through the smoke. Footsteps shook the ground as the dragon followed him. He glanced behind him and saw the dragon’s gaping maw descending towards him. He skidded to a stop, and the dragon closed its mouth on empty air right in front of him.

He sprinted out from under its neck and ran in a random direction, holding back another round of coughing. How long had he been in here? How long would it take for him to die of asphyxiation? Would the dragon get him before that could happen?

He heard a very faint screech as the dragon’s footsteps shook the ground behind him. He stumbled and almost fell over, but he managed to right himself and keep running. He turned and shot wildly behind him. The footsteps stopped for a moment, and he quickened his pace.

Jordon’s chest heaved as he ran. He could barely see three feet in front of them. Where were the others? How would he find them in this mess?

He tipped over a patch of uneven ground and toppled over. He grunted as he crashed to the ground. He turned over to see the large silhouette of the dragon glaring down at him, and he fumbled for his revolvers. He aimed with one of them and pulled the trigger, but the dragon ducked just as he fired. His heart pounded in his chest as the dragon opened its mouth and descended upon him.

It screeched and whipped its head back as a blast of water crashed into its face. Boiling liquid splashed against its hide, and Jordon yelped when a steaming drop splattered on his leg.

He scrambled to his feet and glanced around for the source of the water. Another monstrous shadow emerged from the smoke, even bigger than the white dragon, and Jordon realized with a start that it was Monarch.

Monarch stepped closer to the dragon as it flailed under his blast. Monarch cut off the stream and lowered his head to the ground. Jordon looked up, expecting to see George on Monarch’s back, but no one was there.

Monarch grunted and shot a worried glance at the dragon, who was now trying to shake off the water. Jordon took that as an invitation and ran toward Monarch’s neck. He climbed up and sat between two of the spikes, the way he usually saw George doing. Monarch lifted his head and spread his wings, blowing some of the smoke away from them and allowing Jordon a glimpse of the white dragon in front of them. It was breathing heavily, and it convulsed as a cough exploded from its mouth. Monarch flapped once and launched over the dragon, who squawked as it watched its prey escape.

Jordon leaned down to speak to Monarch. “Are the others safe?” he shouted.

Monarch shook his head and Jordon clenched his revolvers tighter. If the others were in trouble, he had to help.

“Where’s Viral?”

Monarch gestured to the left with his head. He hoped that meant Viral was safe outside the valley.

Monarch lurched as a cough exploded from his mouth. He kept running, even as he choked on the smoke around them.

“Where’s George?” Jordon yelled.

Monarch didn’t answer. He scanned what little ground was visible, most likely searching for George. Jordon put his goggles over his eyes and tried to peer through the smoke, but it didn’t help much. The smoke was too thick.

Jordon stifled another cough and stared down at the ground. He caught a brief glimpse a shape moving across the ground. It disappeared in the smoke after a moment, but he pointed to where it had been. “Monarch!” he shouted. “Down there!”

Monarch glanced back at Jordon to see where he was pointing. Jordon yelped and hugged the white spike in front of him as Monarch leaped after the silhouette. He didn’t know if the shape had been one of the guys or another dragon, but he hoped it was the former, unless it was Lion or Grenade.

Monarch lowered his head down to the shape. “Hey!” Jordon shouted. “Who are you?” He could barely hear himself, but he prayed whoever it was could hear him.

The silhouette stumbled towards them, and Jordon spotted the glowing end of their cloak fluttering in the smoke. They came into view and Jordon sighed with relief. It was Jorel, and he was pulling another barely visible shape along behind him.

Jordon reached down. Jorel let go of the other shape and jumped up. Jordon grasped his hands and pulled him onto Monarch’s back. Jorel leaned down to help the other person up. All Jordon could see was a vague shadow as the other person clambered onto Monarch’s back, so Jordon assumed it was Dylan. Danny’s bright gold cloak and the glowing butterfly on George’s cape wouldn’t let either of them blend into the shadows the way Dylan could.

Monarch lifted his head and ran off again. A bolt of ice whizzed past Jordon’s face, just narrowly missing his cheek. It was only a small icicle, so that meant there must have been other ice dragons in here with them.

Monarch leaped over something and Jordon yelped. Jorel almost tumbled off Monarch’s back, but Dylan held him up. Tiger poked her head out of Jorel’s cape and coughed.

Jordon stared ahead with his goggles, hoping to catch a glimpse of something. He caught sight of another small shadow in the smoke, and he inhaled sharply when he saw a larger silhouette towering over it.

Monarch stopped in his tracks. He squeaked in alarm, a sound Jordon had never heard from him before. Jordon raised a gun at the larger shape and fired once, praying that it wasn’t Viral. He heard a faint screech as the bullet thudded into its hide.

The smaller shape beneath it started sprinting towards them. They disappeared in the smoke for a moment, but they appeared again when they jumped up onto Monarch’s neck. They held something long in their right hand, and Jordon realized that George must have drawn his sword. He sheathed his guns. George could handle whatever was attacking them.

George leaned down and picked up Monarch’s reins, not letting go of the sword in his hand. He glanced back at the rest of them and shouted something, but Jordon couldn’t hear what it was.

Jordon hugged the spike in front of him as Monarch leaped into the air again. He hoped Danny, Lion, and Grenade had somehow gotten out of the valley. He didn’t know if they’d be able to find the three of them in this.

Monarch stopped abruptly and the four heroes shrieked in alarm. Jordon almost fell off Monarch’s back, but he felt someone grab the back of his cloak and pull him back.

Monarch started moving again, and he tilted backward as if he was climbing something. Jordon reached back and wrapped an arm around whoever had grabbed him. They hugged him back and clutched at his cloak as Monarch lurched upwards.

He squeezed his eyes shut as blinding light filled his vision. He felt- and _heard_ \- Monarch’s paws crash onto the ground beneath them.

“Where’d the rider go?” Jorel’s voice asked right next to him. Jordon opened his eyes and saw that he and Jorel were clinging to each other so they didn’t fall off Monarch’s back. They locked eyes for a brief moment. Jorel cleared his throat and looked at the ground before letting go of Jordon’s cape and stepping away.

“Not sure,” George said. He doubled over in a fit of coughing before he could continue.

Jordon glanced behind them at the smoky valley. “Where’s everyone else?”

He heard a loud squawk and whirled around. Viral and the orange dragon were flying towards them at top speed. They landed on the ground, both stumbling to a stop next to Monarch. Viral raised his head up to Monarch’s back and peered down at Jordon. Something moved on Viral’s back, and Lion and Grenade popped up from behind one of his ridges.

“Hey guys!” a voice yelled. A hand waved out from behind a ridge. Danny appeared on Viral’s back. He coughed into his fist before lowering the cloth from his face. “Did you find the rider?”

“We saw his dragon,” George answered. “It attacked us, and we-” He paused when his gaze slid over Jordon. “Jordon? Are you okay?”

Jordon raised a brow in confusion. “Yeah. Why?”

Dylan turned to Jordon and his eyes widened. “Look at your hands, homie.”

Jordon did so and a sharp gasp escaped his lips. The skin on his hands was grey. As he watched, smoke drifted from his fingers and floated down toward the valley.

“What the fuck!” Jordon yelped. He turned to Danny. “Danny, is this normal?”

Danny stared at Jordon’s hands for a moment. He blinked. “Oh, right!” He reached in his bag and grabbed his book. He flipped it open and skimmed a page. “Uh... ‘the Valley of the Shadow of Death is filled with smoke...’ blah blah blah... ‘the Valley operates similarly to the Black Dahlia Fields in the Swan’s Nest. It does not have a magical atmosphere that deteriorates the mind, but it can consume a person if they are susceptible to poor mental health and have experienced multiple issues such as low self-esteem, suicidal thoughts-’”

“Okay that’s great!” Jordon interrupted. “Now how do we fix it?”

Danny mumbled under his breath as he read over the rest of the page. “I don’t know. It should start to wear off now that we’re out of the Valley.” He glanced back up at Jordon. “Does it... feel weird?”

Jordon wiggled his fingers. His hands didn’t feel any different. “No.”

“Do you feel like you’re going to dissolve or anything?”

“No.”

“Well, we should probably get away from here,” George said. “If Jordon’s gonna get consumed by a valley, that’s probably a sign that we should leave.”

“But the dragon rider is still in there!” Dylan protested.

“We have to find him,” Jorel agreed. “He’s just going to keep-”

He was interrupted when something shot out of the valley. They all whirled around just as the large white dragon flew out of the valley, smoke trailing behind it. It glanced at the dragons and their companions. A person sat on its back, wearing goggles and a cloth over his face. He clung to one of the ridges on the dragon’s back, and his hands were grey. Smoke drifted from his fingers.

The dragon narrowed its eyes at the group. It flapped once and soared into the sky.

“We have to follow him,” Jordon said as he watched the dragon disappear into the clouds.

“We have to make sure you’re okay,” George corrected. He let go of Monarch’s reins and walked up to Jordon. “Seriously, you’re _dissolving_. That can’t be good.”

“Forget about me, man!” Jordon said. “We should go after him while he’s still close! I don’t matter more than all of dragonkind!”

George furrowed his brow at Jordon’s words. He glanced at Jordon’s smoky hands. “Jordon, are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Jordon said. He reached up to untie the cloth around his face, but his hands passed right through the fabric. He looked down at his hands. They had dissolved into a cloud of smoke, but it slowly gathered back together and became solid once again.

George looked up at the sky where the rider and his dragon had disappeared, then turned back to Jordon. He sighed. “Alright. Let’s go after him.”

He turned back to Monarch and picked up the reins. Viral walked up next to Monarch and held out his head so Jordon could hop on.

As Jordon jumped from Monarch to Viral, George kept a hand on the hilt of his sword. “He’s not okay,” he whispered to Monarch.

 _He won’t talk about it_ , Monarch pointed out. _Let’s just focus on one thing at a time._

George nodded and took a deep breath. “Okay. Let’s go.”

He tugged on Monarch’s reins, and they lifted off into the sky.


	21. Bullet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning!! this chapter contains themes of depression and suicidal thoughts. there is also a suicide attempt, so if any of that makes you uncomfortable, it may be best if you either stop reading or skip over this chapter.

George kept his eyes on the small white shape far in front of them as Monarch, Viral, and the orange dragon soared through the sky. “Where are we, Danny?”

Danny glanced down at his map. “I don’t know where he’s going, but right now we’re over the Dead Angel Geysers.”

 _If I could fly faster, I would,_ Monarch grumbled. _They’re much faster than I am. Viral and his friend could probably catch up if they tried._

The orange dragon flying next to Viral snorted. She didn’t quicken her pace at all, and neither did Viral. They didn’t seem to want to leave Monarch behind.

George glanced from the silhouette of the white dragon to Jordon. His hands were still grey and smoky, but he didn’t seem to care. He just kept his goggles over his eyes and stared out at the white dragon.

“George, it’s moving!”

George whipped his gaze back to the front at the sound of Dylan’s voice. The white dragon ahead dived down toward the ground and vanished behind a mountain.

Viral squawked. _Go catch up,_ Monarch grunted in response. _We’ll be right behind you._

Viral lurched forward. He and the orange dragon sped up and quickly left Monarch behind.

Jordon hugged one of Viral’s ridges as they flew towards the white dragon. He still couldn’t touch things with his hands, so he couldn’t take his goggles off his face or untie the cloth over his mouth. He also couldn’t hold onto Viral very well, so he constantly had to adjust himself so he didn’t fall off.

He glanced behind him at Danny. “Where is he going?”

Danny shut his book and looked up at Jordon, a glint of fear in his eyes. “Bullet’s Edge.”

They swooped down toward the mountain the dragon disappeared behind. Viral and the orange dragon settled on its peak and stared down at the ground.

Below them was a large, dome-like structure made of red rock. Jordon couldn’t quite tell whether it was natural or man-made. The rock was jagged and rough, and humans usually polished their stone buildings after making them, but the shape of it just didn’t seem natural. From above, it looked like a perfect hemisphere.

Danny pointed to the ground. “There!”

Jordon followed his gaze. A small white shape sat next to the dome. Viral and the orange dragon leaped off the mountain and soared down towards it.

The white dragon looked up at them and yelped, but it didn’t move from its spot. Viral and the orange dragon settled in front of it. Jordon expected to see the dragon rider on its back, but he was taken by surprise when he saw that no one was there.

“Where’s your rider?” Danny demanded. Lion sat up on Viral’s back and growled at the white dragon.

The dragon’s gaze flickered to the dome behind it. It turned its eyes to the ground and grunted.

Jordon stared up at the dome. “He’s in there?” He scanned the rock for any openings, but nothing presented itself.

Danny sighed. “I suppose you won’t tell us how to get in?”

The dragon growled and bared its teeth. Even to Jordon, that was an obvious “no”.

“Danny, what does your book say about this place?” Jordon asked.

Danny opened his book again. “‘Only a handful of people have been granted access to Bullet’s Edge. No one who goes in ever goes out, so very little is known about it. Settlers who travelled to Bullet’s Edge found that everyone who was able to enter—’”

“Did you find the rider?” George’s voice shouted. Monarch lowered himself to the ground and immediately fixed his gaze on the white dragon.

Dylan glanced around. “Where’d the rider go?”

Danny gestured to the dome. “In there. This is Bullet’s Edge.”

Jorel slid off Monarch’s back. Tiger twined around his shoulders as his feet thudded on the ground. “Didn’t you say this place is dangerous?” He turned around and held his arms up to help Dylan off Monarch.

Danny nodded. “Yeah, but we can’t get in unless—”

“Is this a natural formation?” George interrupted, staring up at the dome. He hopped off Monarch with one hand resting on the pommel of his sword.

“Doesn’t look natural to me,” Dylan observed. Grenade jumped down next to him and snuffled at his hair.

“It is natural,” Danny said. “But either way, we can’t get in there unless—”

“It doesn’t look like we can get in at all,” Jorel said. “There are no—”

 _“Would you guys let me finish?”_ Danny shouted.

They all blinked and stared at him. “Sorry,” George said. “Go ahead.”

Danny sighed. “Thank you.” He slid off Viral’s back and Lion followed. “The book says you can’t get in unless you survived something you didn’t want to survive. I’m not quite sure what it means by that, but—”

“Suicide.”

Everyone whipped their heads around to look at Jordon. “What? It makes sense,” he continued. “That’s something you don’t want to survive.”

George exchanged a worried glance with Monarch. “I guess. That’s not the only option, though.”

Jordon shrugged. “What else is there?”

Jorel rolled down his sleeve and stared at his bandages. “Well... I didn’t really want to live through the Grove of Loss. I mean, I fought back at first, but once I thought... once I thought Aron killed Tiger, I just gave up. I was going to let him kill me. I figured I had nothing else to live for. I didn’t want to live if...” He clutched his wrist and held it close to his chest. He didn’t say anything else. Tiger licked at his hair in an attempt to comfort him, and Dylan slung an arm around his shoulders.

“I didn’t want to survive the Grove, either,” George admitted. “Maybe Jorel and I can get in and find the... Jordon?”

Jordon had walked up to the dome and was staring up at it. His hands were still smoky and grey, but he reached up to touch it.

The rock shuddered as soon as his fingers made contact. A crack appeared in the rock, and a section of stone the size of a doorway rose up into the dome.

Jordon peered through the open doorway. It was dark inside the dome, but he felt oddly compelled to go inside.

He stepped through the doorway. “Jordon, what are you doing?” Dylan’s voice asked behind him.

Jordon waved a hand dismissively. “It’s fine. I’ll just—”

He stopped short when the rock slammed down behind him, closing off the doorway. He whirled around, suddenly panicked now that he’d been plunged into darkness.

He took a deep breath to calm himself. He was fine. He’d find the dragon rider and get out. It was fine. Jorel and George could find their way in at some point.

He started forward. He reached for a revolver at his belt, but his hand dissolved into smoke. Right. His hands were still smoky from his time in the Valley of the Shadow of Death. He couldn’t actually touch anything.

As he walked, the area around him grew steadily brighter. A dim orange glow had spread across the rock. The source of the light seemed to be far ahead of him, but it wasn’t very bright.

Something about this situation seemed oddly familiar. He couldn’t quite place how, though. Maybe he was just thinking of the Grove of Loss. It had been dark in there, too.

“No sign of the rider,” he muttered to himself. Where had the rider come in? If a doorway opened for him right near where they landed, then wouldn’t he be somewhere around here?

He stopped in his tracks when he heard a voice. He glanced back, hoping to see the rider, but he still couldn’t see much in the darkness.

He stayed still and quiet. All he could hear was his own breathing.

He took a deep breath and continued on. He had to find the rider. He had to do something useful.

He shook his head. He was already useful. He was a dragon healer. He was the only healer the team had. He’d been helpful so far. He fixed up Tiger after everything in the Grove of Loss, he patched up Monarch’s wounds after the dragon rider attacked them at the Guardian’s Keep, he healed Dove’s eyes after the rider had scratched them up...

_“But you couldn’t even do that right, could you?”_

He jumped at the voice. It was quiet, but it had hissed right in his ear. He expected to see someone standing behind him, but no one was there.

“Chill out, Scene,” he muttered to himself. “You’re fine. You’re just imagining things.”

He continued walking. He couldn’t take his goggles off because of his smoky hands, but at least he hadn’t had them zoomed in. He wished he could take the cloth off his face, too. It was starting to get itchy. He was hit with a wave of déjà vu, but the memory of whatever similar situation he’d been in before kept evading his mind. It was frustrating, but he tried to ignore it as he walked on.

He couldn’t see very well in the darkness and almost tripped over his own feet. He stumbled and managed to right himself, but he heard another quiet voice snicker somewhere in the huge cave.

 _“Can’t even walk right,”_ the voice whispered. Another voice giggled in response.

“I can walk fine,” Jordon grumbled. He tried to ignore the fading giggles in the darkness. He had to focus on finding the dragon rider.

He wished Viral was there with him. It would be easier to see if he had fire, and he’d feel better if he had some company.

Wait- no, Viral shouldn’t be in there. This place was dangerous! Did he really want to put his dragon’s life at risk just for a little bit of light? How shitty of a person was he to want someone else in this place?

 _“You already know you’re a bad person,”_ a voice whispered. _“Remember everything you’ve done?”_

God, how could he forget? He’d done so many awful things. He didn’t like to think about them, but they were ingrained in his mind forever. He couldn’t reverse anything he’d done. He just had to live with it.

 _“But you don’t want to live with it, do you?”_ another voice hissed.

Of course he didn’t! He wanted to just forget it ever happened, or better yet, somehow take back everything he’d done. But there was no way he could do either of those things. He was stuck with the memories of everything he’d ever done.

_“You don’t have to live with it.”_

Jordon tripped and toppled to the ground. He tried to push himself back up, but his hands dissolved when he touched the rock. Still, he managed to turn over onto his back and glance around for the source of the voice. “What do you mean?”

He could almost hear the voices smiling as they whispered in his ear. _“You don’t have to live at all.”_

He blinked. The voices were right. He didn’t have to.

He shook his head and stood up. No, that was crazy. That wasn’t the solution to his cripplingly low self-esteem! He’d considered it multiple times before, even tried it once, but that was no reason to start considering it again.

But as he walked on toward the source of the dim orange glow in the cave, he couldn’t help but think about it. Death would solve all of his problems. If he was gone, Viral wouldn’t feel compelled to stay with him on Sunset Island. Viral could go anywhere he wanted.

 _“You’re just holding him back,”_ one of the voices said. _“He’d be much better off without you. Remember how happy he seemed with that other dragon?”_

Yeah, Viral really did seem happy while they were at Jack’s Cup. He really did belong here in the Tragedy Isles. Jordon couldn’t keep dragging Viral around Sunset just to—

Wait, wasn’t he trying to _help_ other dragons while he and Viral were flying around Sunset? He was trying to heal dragons who needed it. He was reversing some of the damage humans had caused.

 _“Some of the damage_ you _caused.”_

Jordon’s shoulders tensed. He _had_ caused a lot of damage. Maybe he was only trying to help dragons to make himself feel better. He wasn’t doing it to make a change. He just wanted to stop feeling bad about himself.

A voice whispered in his ear. _“You never cared about any of the dragons on Sunset. You left the island as soon as these people you didn’t even know invited you on some crazy adventure to save dragonkind.”_

Another voice hissed in his other ear. _“You just want to do something big enough to herald yourself as a hero so you don’t have to think about all the horrible things you’ve done.”_

They were right. He was an awful person. He wasn’t trying to help anyone else; he was only trying to help himself.

Jordon stumbled as he walked. Why was he still walking? Where was he going? Why was he in this cave?

 _You’re looking for the dragon rider,_ he reminded himself. _You’re here to find him because no one else could get in here. You have to get rid of him so he doesn’t kill every dragon in the world!_

_“But what’s the point of that if you’re only doing it for yourself anyway?”_

His shoulders slumped at the voice’s words. There was no point.

Still, he kept walking. It was as if someone had tied a rope around his neck and was pulling him forward. He couldn’t seem to make himself stop, even as he tripped over his own feet in the darkness.

 _“Death is the only way to stop your thoughts,”_ a voice said. _“It’s the only way to make up for what you’ve done.”_

 _“No one will miss you anyway,”_ another voice agreed.

“Viral would,” he blurted.

But even as he said the words, he didn’t believe it. Viral would be so much better off without him. Maybe Viral would be disappointed at first, but he would get over it. He would be free to do whatever he wanted. And even if he did want a companion, Aron had said there were other dragon companions who fled Sunset. Viral could find someone else.

_“You know that’s not true. Viral wouldn’t miss you. There’s no one who would miss someone like you.”_

Another name entered his mind. “What about Dylan?”

Jordon flinched when a voice barked out a laugh. _“He wouldn’t miss you if he knew what you’d done. Besides, hasn’t he found a new best friend in Jorel? Those two have been awfully close since the Black Dahlia Fields. Dylan’s always been a people person. Now that he has other friends, he doesn’t need you. You’ve been replaced.”_

He thought about the way Dylan and Jorel seemed to interact so easily with each other. Dylan was the first person Jorel turned to every time he wanted to talk to someone, and Dylan always seemed to want to stick with Jorel. Even when they were on two separate dragons, they were yelling across the sky just to have a conversation. Jordon used to think Dylan was his best friend, but what if that wasn’t the case anymore? Had he really been replaced in less than a week?

“But they need a healer,” Jordon muttered, a last half-hearted attempt to bring some sort of worth to his being. He kept stumbling towards the dim glow ahead of him.

 _“You can’t even do that right,”_ a voice hissed. _“Remember how you couldn’t heal Dove? Did you even try to heal her? Do you actually care about what you do?”_

He did try! It was just a really hard wound to heal. That wasn’t his fault.

_“Aron did say that there were other companions in Angeles. There must be another healer somewhere. Maybe the other hero who left Sunset was a healer. You found Aron, so the others will be able to find the last hero. Face it— you’re useless. They don’t need you.”_

He almost fell forward as he got closer to the orange light. It got brighter the closer he got, and now he could see what the source was.

A ledge dropped down in front of him, leading to a huge pool of bubbling lava. He finally stopped walking and stared at the edge of the cliff he’d been walking on.

 _“You can end it,”_ a voice whispered.

_“Right here.”_

_“Right now.”_

_“Go ahead.”_

_“You’re worthless anyway.”_

He felt tears well up in his eyes. A whirlwind of thoughts swam through his head. He was worthless. He didn’t deserve to live.

He took a shaky step forward, but he stopped when he heard a new voice yelling his name. He whirled around and saw someone running straight towards him.

“Jordon!” The person stopped a few feet in front of him, breathing heavily. It took him a moment to realize that it was George. “Jordon, holy shit, we thought we’d never find you.”

Footsteps echoed through the darkness and three more shapes came into view. Jorel, Danny, and Dylan stopped behind George. Each one had their weapons drawn, and their chests heaved as if they had just fought something.

“Sorry it took us so long to get in,” George said. “Viral almost broke the entire cave trying to get to you. Are you okay?”

Jordon didn’t respond. He just stared at them.

Dylan stepped forward. “Hey, Charlie? Charles P. Scene? You good homie?”

Jordon blinked at them. Danny and Jorel exchanged a concerned glance, but neither of them moved.

Jordon whirled around and sprinted towards the edge. Someone yelled in alarm and footsteps pounded after him. He ignored it and kept running.

He skidded to a stop when something wrapped around his wrist and yanked him backward. He glanced down and saw a thin chain attached to a dagger twisted around his arm. He tugged on it, desperately trying to get to the edge of the cliff. He couldn’t let himself keep living.

He felt whoever was holding him back slide across the ground, and he managed to pull himself closer to the edge. “Yo George!” a voice yelled. “He’s stronger than I thought, you’re gonna have to grab him!”

Someone rushed forward and wrapped their arms around Jordon. He struggled as they dragged him away from the edge. Tears spilled from his eyes, fogging up his goggles. He was so close! He had to make them let go so he could die!

He reached up to tug on the person’s arms, but his smoky hands passed right through. He kicked out, but his feet connected with nothing. “Please,” he croaked as he flailed. “Please, let me go.”

“What’s he doing?” a voice shouted.

“Is he _trying_ to die?” another voice yelled.

Yes! That was exactly what he was doing! Maybe they’d let him go now that they realized that’s what he wanted!

But the arms around him just became tighter. A sob escaped his lips and he struggled harder. “Let me go,” he begged. “Please, let me die. Please.”

“He’s not gonna stop!”

“Should we knock him out?”

“How do we do that?”

“Hit him with the hilt of your spear!”

He cried out in anguish as the person holding him pulled him further away from the edge of the cliff. “Let me go. Please, just let me go. I wanna die.”

Pain shot through him as something struck the back of his head. He blinked, trying to regain his senses so he could break out of the person’s grip and run off the edge, but something hit him again and his already blurry vision went dark.

The person holding him loosened their grip, but he was too dizzy to make himself struggle. They put a hand under his knees and swept him off his feet so they were carrying him.

“Let’s get him out of here,” their voice rumbled.

Footsteps echoed on the stone as the person started walking. His tears wouldn’t let him see through his goggles, but he could still see the faint orange glow of the lava beneath the cliff. He squirmed in the person’s arms as a wave of despair washed over him. The person squeezed his shoulder gently, and after a moment, he relaxed. Now that he wasn’t standing, he felt exhaustion take over his body. How long had he been walking?

He blinked his tears away and leaned his head against the person’s shoulder as they carried him away. He closed his eyes and let himself drift off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so is anyone else IN LOVE with the new single? jay's screaming has really improved since psalms and danny still sounds like a damn angel. i'm so fuckin hyped for the next album in 2020, especially if they'll have more songs like already dead on it.  
> long story short, the new single slaps and i'm basically listening to it on repeat at this point


	22. Levitate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is very dialogue heavy, which I'm not used to writing, so forgive me if it sucks. also, this chapter contains suicidal thoughts and mentions of a couple suicide attempts, so if that's not your cup of tea, you might wanna either stop reading or skip over this chapter. for those of you who will read it, enjoy :)

Jordon’s eyes fluttered open. He groaned as an ache settled across his body. He glanced around and blinked as his tired brain processed the scene around him. He was in a field of short grass, and the sky was dark. Three other people were lying nearby. Two of them leaned against dragons just a little bigger than them, and another person leaned against one of the others with a white dragon curled around his shoulders. They all seemed to be asleep. It took a moment for his mind to present him with their names: Danny, Dylan, and Jorel.

But where was George? And what about Viral and Monarch?

He heard something shift in the grass behind him and turned around. Viral lied down in the field with his eyes closed. He rolled over and let out a loud snore.

“You’re awake.”

Jordon turned towards the voice. Monarch had settled in the field near Viral, but his eyes were open. George sat in the grass near the dim remains of a fire. His gaze was fixed on Jordon, and Jordon realized that George’s sword wasn’t in its sheath at his belt.

George stood and walked over to Jordon. He knelt down to Jordon’s level. “How do you feel?”

Jordon didn’t answer. “Where are we?” he asked instead.

“We found a field and set down so we could rest.”

“How long have I been out?”

George shrugged. “About an hour.”

Jordon blinked. “How... how long was I in that cave?”

“A long ass time. You went in there in the morning, and you were in there for the whole afternoon and into the evening. It took hours to break through the rock, and it took another few to actually find you in there.”

Jordon stared at him, a little confused. “It only felt like a few minutes.”

George furrowed his brow. “Maybe that place warped your sense of time somehow. It must have had some kind of magical effect on you, because you tried to jump off that cliff into the lava.”

Jordon hesitated. “You guys didn’t... hear any voices while you were in there, did you?”

“No...” George tilted his head. “Did you?”

Jordon swallowed, then slowly nodded. “Yeah. I did.”

“What did they say?”

Jordon tensed. He didn’t want to share. He knew there was no magical atmosphere or anything in Bullet’s Edge that was making him feel bad. Sure, the voices helped bring up all his bad thoughts and memories, but trying to jump off was his own choice.

He could still do it. He could still off himself right there and then. Just take out one of his revolvers and end it.

“Hey, Scene. You with me?”

Jordon looked up. George was still looking at him, concern etched on every feature of his face.

Jordon nodded. “Yeah, I’m good.”

“We took your guns away,” George said, as if he knew exactly what Jordon had just been thinking. “We hid all our weapons. We didn’t want you doing anything stupid when you woke up in case the magic from that place was still messing with you.”

Jordon reached for a gun at his belt to check, and sure enough, his hand closed on nothing. He glanced at his hand just to make sure it wasn’t still grey and smoky, but it was solid flesh.

Jordon sighed and laid back in the grass. “I’m not gonna thank you for that,” he mumbled. He reached up and pulled the cloth off his face. It was a relief to actually take it off after having it on through his walk in Bullet’s Edge. He took off his goggles too, which thankfully weren’t foggy from his tears anymore.

George stared at Jordon with wide eyes. “W... would you have... done something stupid?”

“If that ‘something stupid’ is shooting myself in the head, then probably.” He sat up and stretched. “But if you _really_ want me to stay alive, don’t give me my guns until morning. Maybe even later. This just happens sometimes. I’ll get over it.”

George nodded slowly. “Noted.” He paused. “But... why? When did this start? Why are you...?” He couldn’t seem to make himself finish his sentence.

Jordon sighed. “I don’t know. I just don’t know, okay?”

George was silent for a moment. Jordon kept his gaze fixed on the ground. He was a little ashamed that he hadn’t been able to keep this hidden. He was just looking for pity. George didn’t want to hear about all of Jordon’s problems anyway. He already had enough to worry about with the dragon rider still out there— that is, if the rider survived Bullet’s Edge.

George stood up. “You’ve never ridden on Monarch, have you?”

Jordon blinked, a little taken aback. He looked up at George. “What?”

George held out a hand. “You wanna go for a ride?”

Jordon stared at his hand. The idea of riding a Great Dragon was exciting, but why would George want to take Jordon for a ride? Besides, who’s to say Jordon wouldn’t jump off Monarch’s back once they were high enough?

He hesitated, but he took George’s hand. George pulled him to his feet and led Jordon over to Monarch. Monarch raised his head as the pair approached, but he lowered it again to let them climb onto his neck.

George hopped up onto Monarch with ease. He leaned down to help Jordon up, and he grabbed George’s outstretched hands and let George pull him up onto Monarch’s neck. George picked up the reins dangling from Monarch’s horns as Jordon seated himself behind him.

“If you jump off, we’re catching you,” George said.

Jordon nodded. “Noted.”

George tugged on the reins and Monarch spread his wings. “You might want to hold on,” George advised.

Monarch lurched into the air and Jordon yelped. He wrapped his arms around George’s waist as Monarch rose above the field.

Monarch tilted backwards, making a vertical beeline for the sky. Jordon stared down at the ground. The field got smaller as they flew above it, and Jordon saw that it was surrounded by orange rock. A few other dragons rested in the grass, but all of them seemed to be asleep. His ears popped as the pressure in the air changed, and he was blinded for a moment as they broke through the clouds.

Monarch levelled out and hovered in the sky. Jordon gazed out at the sky around them. Stars twinkled in the darkness, and the moon shone down on them. It was beautiful, but Jordon felt like he didn’t deserve to see it. He was still a shitty person. He shouldn’t be allowed to see nice things like this.

Still, he took a deep breath and let himself admire the scene for a moment.

Then a question popped up in his head. “Hey, George?”

George tore his gaze away from the sky and glanced behind him at Jordon. “Yeah?”

“What’s so special about being a dragon rider?”

George furrowed his brow. “Not sure what you mean.”

“I mean, how is it any different from just sitting on a dragon’s back? You’ve got reins, but can’t he just fly on his own without you directing him?”

Monarch snorted and George grinned. “We’ll show you.” He turned back to Monarch. “Monarch?”

Monarch turned his head to look at George. He huffed, and to Jordon’s surprise, he closed his eyes.

George tightened his grip on the reins. “Uh, George?” Jordon said. “Why did he close his eyes?”

“Because he trusts me,” George said, still smiling. “Hang on tight.”

Jordon was about to ask why, but the words were snatched from his mouth when Monarch shot forward. He clung to George tighter, trying to keep himself from falling off.

“Where are we going?” Jordon shouted over the wind.

George just shrugged. He lightly tugged on the left rein, and Monarch tilted sideways as he careened to the left. Jordon watched the ground below them and felt himself slowly sliding off Monarch’s neck.

The world turned upside-down and he squeaked in alarm. He clutched George tighter and looked up at the ground. They passed over ledges of orange rock, a few bright spots of light dotting the ground as they soared over small volcanoes and pools of lava.

His stomach dropped when Monarch rolled upright again. George pulled the reins down on Monarch’s horns, and Monarch tilted his head up. The rest of his body followed until they were flying directly into the sky.

“How high are we going?” Jordon asked.

“How high do you want to go?” George responded.

Jordon hesitated. “Uh, I think this is high enough.”

George slackened his grip on the reins and Monarch stopped flapping. They hovered in the air for a moment, and the air left Jordon’s lungs in gasp as they suddenly plummeted downward.

Jordon stared down at the rapidly approaching ground. His heart pounded as panic set in. They were headed straight for the opening of a volcano! They were going to die!

Jordon tensed as the orange glow of the volcano got closer. Just as he thought they were going to splash into the lava, George tugged on the reins and Monarch shot upward. His claws skimmed the top of the lava, and they flew out of the volcano and back into the night sky.

Jordon hugged George tighter. “This is mildly terrifying, not gonna lie!”

“You wanna take it slower?”

Jordon nodded. George pulled on the right rein and Monarch turned. They flew low over the small volcanoes and Jordon relaxed. The land below them was actually really pretty.

George gently nudged Jordon. “You hear that?”

Jordon was about to ask what he meant, but then he heard it: a low, deep rumbling coming from something nearby.

“What is that?” he asked.

George pointed to Monarch. “He’s snoring.”

Jordon gaped at him. “He’s _sleeping?”_

George shrugged. “He falls asleep fast.”

“But how is he still flying?”

“He can fly in his sleep. I don’t know if it’s a Great Dragon thing or a dragon rider thing, but he trusts me to direct him while he’s resting. He knows I won’t let us crash.”

“Whoa,” Jordon whispered. “That’s cool.”

“You wanna know something else we can do?”

“Sure.”

George shut his eyes. A moment later, Monarch’s eyes snapped open, and Jordon spotted a dim blue glow in his irises.

Jordon was a little confused. “What are you doing?”

“Seeing through Monarch’s eyes,” George answered, as if what he said was totally normal.

Jordon’s eyes widened. “You can do that?” He thought being a dragon rider was just about telling a dragon where to fly, like riding a horse. He didn’t think dragon riding was like this.

George opened his eyes again and Monarch closed his, still snoring. “Dragon riding is a lot more complicated than it seems. You have to trust each other completely to really be a dragon rider.” He tapped his foot against Monarch’s side like he was deep in thought. “I think the rider we’re chasing was only relying on controlling dragons to get that trust, but this new dragon of his seems more independent.” He sighed. “I wonder what that dragon sees in him that we don’t. Maybe if we knew, we could fix this without anyone getting hurt.”

Jordon snorted. “A little too late for that. We’ve all gotten hurt so far, and the rider doesn’t seem to care. By the way, I’m going to check your bandages as soon as we land.”

“You’re going to sleep as soon as we land,” George corrected. “You’re mentally and physically exhausted. You need rest.”

“You’ve got wounds that almost killed you. I’m checking them and changing your bandages.”

George twisted in his seat to look at Jordon. “Why don’t you let other people take care of you?”

Jordon was taken aback by the question, but he didn’t see any point in lying. “I don’t deserve it,” he answered. “I’m a bad person, and bad people don’t deserve care.”

“Why do you think you’re such a bad person?”

Jordon wasn’t sure if he wanted to share that much. “I just am.”

They were both silent for a moment. Jordon was relieved that George didn’t ask any more questions, but he was also kind of disappointed. He’d never shared any of his problems with anyone else, and he kind of wanted to, even though he knew he shouldn’t weigh anyone down with his issues.

“Do you want to know what I saw in the Grove of Loss?”

Jordon looked up at George. He was facing the front so Jordon couldn’t see his face.

“Do you want to tell me?” Jordon asked.

“I think so.”

Jordon shrugged. “Then go ahead.”

George took a deep breath. “I saw the dragon rider.”

Jordon straightened. Now George had his full attention. “You did?”

George nodded. “I’m pretty sure it wasn’t the Grove that was making me see it. It was actually the dragon rider. After I saved Jorel, I thought I saw the rider and ran off. I got lost. Something touched my shoulder, so I swung at it with my sword. A weird blue torch lit up in a tree and...” He gulped. “And Dylan was dead on the ground in front of me.”

“Oh,” Jordon breathed. “What happened after that?”

He sighed. “I started running. After I killed him, I figured the best thing I could do was get lost in the forest so I couldn’t hurt any more of you guys. Random voices kept yelling at me. You guys would run at me from the darkness, and I panicked and ended up killing all of you. The whole time, something was cutting my arms, but I couldn’t see what it was.”

Jordon nodded as George spoke. His story was a bit surprising, but he didn’t want to say anything and interrupt him.

“You were the last one I killed,” George continued. “You had your goggles on so... I don’t know, I guess I thought you were the rider. After that I just kind of... stood there. I couldn’t process everything I did. I went into shock, I think. I heard a growl behind me and I thought maybe it was the rider’s dragon, so I whirled around and stabbed it. But...” He paused and took a shaky breath. “It was Monarch.” He shook his head. “I stabbed him right in the head. And _then_ I saw the rider.”

“What did he do?” Jordon asked.

“He stumbled toward me and collapsed. His arms were bleeding. He looked at me and Monarch and he just... stared. I could have killed him right there, but I didn’t. I don’t know why. I could have ended all this right then, but I didn’t.”

He fell silent. Questions swam through Jordon’s head, but he wasn’t sure if George would even answer them.

However, his curiosity got the best of him. “Why did you see all that?”

George sighed. “I guess you’re the people I’m most scared of losing. Not just because you’re all heroes, although that’s part of it. I’ve only known you all for four days, but you’re the most family I’ve ever had. And of course I’m scared of losing Monarch. He’s been with me for years. I don’t know what I would do if he was gone.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Jordon said. “I mean, why were you the one to kill us in the Grove? Why didn’t you see the rider killing us, like Jorel did with Tiger?”

George’s shoulders tensed. “You already know the story. Monarch and I defended the Keep and we killed a lot of people.”

“And you’re scared of doing it again,” Jordon realized.

George nodded. “Yeah. I am. I don’t regret protecting our home, but we went after people who were running away. No one who came to the Keep survived. We made sure of that.” He paused. “But it’s not just that.”

Jordon raised an eyebrow. “What else is there?”

“Do you know how Monarch and I met?”

“No. That was never in the legends.”

“You’re never going to believe this, but I used to hate dragons.”

Jordon took a moment to process that. “Wait, seriously?”

“I know, it’s weird. But this was when humans were trying to colonize all of Angeles, and everyone hated dragons then.” He looked down at the ground as they passed over a bunch of smaller mountains. “A few friends of mine went on a voyage to the Land of the Dead and died, so I decided that I wanted to be a dragon hunter.”

“Did you actually kill any?” Jordon asked.

“I certainly tried,” George admitted. “But the first dragon I really wanted to go after was the Guardian. I figured that if anyone was going to kill him, it was going to be me. I thought I deserved to kill him because a few of my friends died, but there were people who lost _family_ during those expeditions. I didn’t deserve to do shit.” He shrugged. “So I hijacked a boat and went directly for the Keep with my sword. I hurt a lot of dragons along the way. I injured a lot of them badly enough that they would have died eventually, but they would have died even with a small wound. My sword is... destructive, to say the least. No one who touches the blade lives for more than a few hours.”

Jordon stared up at the sky as he listened to George speak. “What happened when you arrived?”

“I went straight for the Guardian. I didn’t bother to kill any other dragons unless they were attacking me, and after they saw what I did to one, none of the others got in my way. The whole journey took days, and it’s been years since then, but I still remember when I met him. It was pouring rain. I was hiking up this huge hill that ended in a cliff so I could see the land better. I didn’t even make it to the Keep. All I remember is getting to the top and seeing this huge blue shape rise up in front of me with glowing blue eyes. I immediately knew he was the Guardian. I raised my sword to stab him between the eyes, but somehow, I just... couldn’t. I don’t know what stopped me, but I looked at him, and I just couldn’t do it.”

Jordon tilted his head. “You couldn’t or you wouldn’t?”

George snorted. “I don’t know. I _wouldn’t_ , I guess. Maybe I was too shocked by how big Monarch actually was that I couldn’t make myself move. Maybe I was too scared. I don’t know. Whatever the reason, I dropped my sword and we didn’t kill each other, so we’ve been companions ever since. I’m just scared that I’ll go back that mindset and decide to try killing Monarch for real.” He shook his head. “It’s stupid, I know.”

George tugged on the reins, and Monarch lowered himself to a thick rock bridge leading from a mountain to a large, flat cliff. Streaming down the middle of the bridge was a river of lava. As soon as Monarch landed on the rock, he curled up and kept snoring.

George swung one leg over so he was facing the lava river. “Let’s hope he doesn’t roll over. I wouldn’t want to get crushed.”

Jordon let go of George and did the same so he was sitting side-by-side with him. “Where are we?”

“The Levitating Creek, I think,” George answered. He glanced at Jordon. “You okay now?”

Jordon nodded. “More or less.” He got the feeling George meant more than just how he was feeling— he was asking if Jordon was okay to talk about what was troubling him.

He looked up at George, who gave him a small reassuring smile. Nothing that George did was nearly as bad as the things Jordon had done, but George said that he hated dragons at one point and even wanted to hunt them. Maybe he wouldn’t judge Jordon.

Jordon hugged his knees to his chest and turned his gaze to the lava. He took a deep breath. He decided he’d tell George about the heavier stuff later. He wasn’t used to talking to other people. He’d ease into it.

“You remember that we all had weird dreams the night before we all met?” Jordon asked.

“Yeah. Why?”

Jordon hesitated. “I... I think what happened in Bullet’s Edge also happened in my dream that night. It didn’t really register then, but thinking about it now... I remember dreaming about me standing at the edge of a cliff with lava below it and wanting to jump off. I mean, those kinds of dreams aren’t exactly unusual for me, so I guess that’s why I forgot about it. I didn’t give it any thought, because I always think about that kind of stuff.”

George nodded. “I wonder why that’s what you dreamed about. Jorel had a dream about the Grove of Loss, and you dreamed about Bullet’s Edge. Is there something special about those two places that made them appear in your dreams? And why can’t the rest of us remember our dreams?”

Jordon shrugged. “Not sure.”

They fell silent for a moment. Jordon silently hoped the George wouldn’t question him about anything else, but unfortunately, he did.

“I get the feeling that’s not all that’s troubling you,” George said. “Is there something else that’s bugging you, or...?”

Jordon took a deep breath. “You really want to know?”

“If you’re okay with telling me about it, yeah. Talk to me.”

Jordon hugged his knees tighter as his mind raced, trying to steel his nerves. Would George really not judge him? He glanced at George from the corner of his eye, and the reassuring smile he got was enough to comfort him.

“I used to be an executioner,” he blurted. He hunched his shoulders in shame as he said it. “And a dragon hunter. I still have an axe at Dylan’s place.”

He was met with silence. He didn’t want to look at George to see the judgmental glare he was sure he would have. George hurt dragons, but he was doing it because he thought it was their fault some of his friends died. Jordon hurt— no _killed—_ dragons for no reason. Why did he think George wouldn’t judge him?

Then he felt an arm wrap around his shoulders. “Is that was all this is about?”

Jordon risked a glance at George. He was looking at Jordon with a sympathetic look in his eyes.

Jordon looked away. “I mean, sort of. I’ve always had a shitty self esteem, and I never really had anything going for me before I was a healer. Even now, I’m a shitty healer. I’m practically useless.”

George held up one of his arms, showing Jordon his bandages. “Well, you saved me. That’s something.”

Jordon shrugged. “I... guess so. But anyone can wrap up bandages. Danny did a good job when he was living in his burned up village.”

“So how did you become a healer?” George asked. “Going from an executioner to a healer is a pretty big jump.”

Jordon sighed. “You want me to tell you my life story?”

“If you want to tell it.”

Jordon nodded. “Okay.” He took a deep breath. He’d never told anyone else about him being an executioner, not even Dylan, so he felt a little shaky. What would George think of him once he told him everything?

“I became an executioner because it paid well,” Jordon started. “I never liked dragons. I thought they were horrible creatures that killed everything in sight. I hated myself too, though, and I figured that I could at least try to help the world by getting rid of some of the bad things in it. I killed dragons almost every day, and I felt a little better about myself every time I did. I almost looked _forward_ to executions. Sometimes I would go out and hunt dragons just to bring them in and get a reward, only to kill them and get paid again a couple hours later. It was...” He shuddered. “I hate thinking about the way I was. I was awful. I _am_ awful for doing all that.”

“Then tell me about how it changed,” George said. “What convinced you that dragons weren’t that bad?”

Jordon tried to push all of his bad thoughts out of his head as he continued with his story. “I just came back home from an execution. I opened my door and... and I saw this little grey and white dragon the size of a dog on my couch.”

“Viral?”

Jordon nodded. “He was just a baby back then. I was going to get my crossbow to shoot him, but he was already bleeding. He had this huge wound on his side, and I just stopped. I couldn’t shoot a baby animal that was bleeding, even though he was a dragon.”

“You couldn’t or you wouldn’t?”

Jordon rolled his eyes. “ _Wouldn’t_. I wouldn’t hurt a baby animal.”

“Alright,” George said. He seemed satisfied with Jordon’s answer. “Then what?”

Jordon sighed. “I had no idea what to do. This thing was in my house and I didn’t want to kill it. I was going to just put him outside and not worry about it again, but he was crying and bleeding and he squawked whenever I came close. I didn’t want anyone else outside hearing him and knowing I had a dragon in my house, so I just let him sit there and went to bed.”

“Was he still there in the morning?”

“Yeah. He wasn’t bleeding anymore, but he couldn’t seem to move. I still had half a mind to put him out of his misery, but he was so damn cute, I let him sit on my couch for the rest of the day. I bought some meat from the market and brought it home, and I cut off a chunk and tossed it on the couch for him. If this thing was going to be here while he was healing, I didn’t want him to starve to death.”

“How long did he stay there?”

Jordon shrugged. “Two weeks, maybe. I started to like him after a couple days. He stopped squawking at me when I went to sit on the couch. I figured out that he liked fish better than most meat. He even let me pet him at one point. Then one morning, I woke up and he wasn’t there anymore. For about a week, I thought that I’d just hallucinated the whole thing, but I started to feel guilty about my job. I stopped hunting, and every time I killed a dragon, I couldn’t help thinking about the baby dragon that stayed in my house. He came back a week later, though, and he brought a couple of injured baby dragons that he apparently thought could stay at my house.”

“So he just invited himself back in?”

Jordon snorted. “Yeah, pretty much. He didn’t even seem to realize that I was an executioner.” He leaned against George’s shoulder. “Those two dragons were pretty badly injured, and they couldn’t just sit there and wait to be done bleeding. I wouldn’t kill them either, so I found some bandages and patched them up as best I could.”

“Did they leave once they were better?”

“Yeah. Viral disappeared for a while after that, but he kept coming back with more small dragons that needed help. I kept at my job, but...” He fixed his gaze on the streaming lava in front of them. “One day, I was called for an execution, and I stood there with my axe for a solid five minutes before I just dropped it and left. I could— I _wouldn’t_ kill it. I despised myself for all the dragons I’d killed. I got to my house and started crying as soon as I closed the door. I felt so awful about everything I’d done that I considered finding the nearest cliff and just jumping off.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“Viral climbed in through the window with three hatchlings that needed help. Patching them up gave me just enough time to get out of my head and focus on something else. Then I decided that I wasn’t going to stay in that town any more. I packed up all my stuff, hid the dragons in my bag and my cloak, and I left the town. I had no idea where I was going to go, but I knew that I had to get away from there.” He heaved a huge sigh. “And that’s it really. Sometimes I’ll think about it and wish that I had gone straight for the nearest cliff right after I left that execution. Not just because I’ve killed dragons, but because I’ve always hated myself and this just made it worse.” He swallowed nervously. “One time, I even sneaked away while Viral was sleeping and jumped off the nearest cliff. It wasn’t as tall as I thought it was, so I survived with barely any injuries. I just told Viral I fell while collecting some herbs. Sometimes I wish I’d found a taller cliff.”

A moment of silence. “So,” George began, “long story short, you think you’re a shitty person because of stuff you did in your past?”

Jordon nodded. “Pretty much.”

“Well, if it helps, just know that most bad people don’t worry about being better.”

Jordon furrowed his brow. “What do you mean?”

“Most bad people mean to be bad, or they think they’re doing good,” George explained. “They don’t have the capacity to realize that what they’re doing is wrong. A bad person would have killed Viral without hesitating and not given it another thought.” He gave Jordon a smile. “You’re trying to be better. That’s something.”

Jordon blinked. “You don’t think I’m a bad person?”

George shook his head. “I told you that I’ve killed dragons before, man. You’re no worse than I am. I still feel guilty about it, and I get scared that I might be a bad person, too.” He squeezed Jordon’s shoulders. “We can try to be better together.”

Jordon stared at him with wide eyes. Was he seriously cool about all this?

“You know, you’re a lot less intimidating than the legends made you out to be,” Jordon said.

“Thanks, I guess.”

They stared out at the lava for a few seconds and listened to Monarch’s snoring. Jordon was relieved that George didn’t think he was bad, but a thought popped up in his head. He must have somehow tricked George into thinking he was a decent person. He didn’t deserve George’s sympathy.

He shook his head. Couldn’t he just make himself shut up for five minutes?

“Hey, George?”

“Yeah?”

“If I ever ask you to hold onto my guns for while, will you? Just so I don’t do anything stupid?”

George nodded. “Absolutely. And If I ever get scared that I’m gonna hurt anyone, could you hold onto my sword?”

Jordon saw the opportunity to make a dumb joke and grinned. “Your sword, huh?”

George laughed and elbowed Jordon in the side. “I’m not talking about my penis!”

Jordon chuckled and leaned into George’s side. The mood seemed lighter now, which Jordon was thankful for. He didn’t always like to think about sad stuff, even though that encompassed about ninety percent of his mind most days. He felt a bit better, having told someone about his issues. He was glad that George let him talk.

Jordon rested his head on George’s shoulder. “Thanks.”

“No problem.” George patted Monarch’s neck. “We should probably get back to the others.”

“Yeah.”

They both twisted in their seats so they were facing the front. Jordon wrapped his arms around George again as Monarch opened his eyes. He blinked sleepily, but he grunted and raised his wings. They took off again, and Jordon let himself enjoy the view below them as they soared through the sky.


	23. S.C.A.V.A.

Jordon woke to the sound of a dragon screeching. He bolted upright and squinted at the sky as a large shape descended upon the grassy field.

Jorel’s eyes snapped open and he lifted his head off Dylan’s shoulder to look at the orange dragon that swooped down into the grass. “What’s going on?” he asked as Tiger curled around his shoulders.

Viral lifted his head and squawked in greeting. The orange dragon stumbled to a stop and squeaked, her eyes wide.

Danny pushed himself to his feet as Lion yawned and stretched. “Wait, can you repeat that? I didn’t hear you.”

The dragon huffed, but she let out another squeak. Danny blinked, waiting for his tired brain to process what she said. “Wait... he survived Bullet’s Edge?”

Jordon tensed at the mention of Bullet’s Edge, but George walked up next to him and put a hand on his shoulder. “He’s talking about the rider,” George said. “Not you.”

The dragon squawked again and Danny’s eyes widened. “ _Where_ is he going?” He reached into his bag, pulled out his book, and started flipping through it, searching for the map. He stopped and skimmed the page. “Why is he going there?”

Dylan walked up to Danny and leaned over his shoulder to look at the map. “Where is he going?”

Danny nudged Dylan away from him. “Stop touching me,” he grumbled. “He’s going to the Massacre Mausoleum in the Smashed Ruins. It’s where the humans made their first and only stand against dragons a thousand years ago.” He thumbed through a few more pages. “By the way, is Dove still at Jack’s Cup? I don’t want her getting hurt if she tries to come with us.”

The dragon chirped and nodded. Danny sighed with relief. “Good. We should get going to the ruins if we’re going to catch this guy.”

Grenade’s shoulders slumped as he whined. Dylan nudged him with his elbow. “What, you miss your girlfriend?”

Grenade huffed and turned up his nose, but Dylan grinned. “You like Dove, don’t you? You _like_ like her.”

Grenade grunted and rolled his eyes. He tromped over to Monarch, but Lion snickered as he passed and he shot her a glare.

“We’ll go back and see Dove at some point today,” George said as Grenade hopped onto Monarch’s back. “Oh, and Jordon...” He reached into his cloak and pulled out Jordon’s revolvers. “You good now?”

Jordon hesitated. He wasn’t sure if having weapons with him so soon after a huge mental breakdown was safe for him, but he nodded. “Yeah.”

George walked up to Jordon and handed him his guns. Jordon immediately put them in their holsters and looked up at Viral. “You can stay here if you—”

Viral scoffed and lowered his head to Jordon’s level before he could finish his sentence. Viral nudged his companion with his nose, staring at him with wide orange eyes.

George briefly laid a hand on Jordon’s shoulder. “He wants to go with you, man. You’re his friend.”

Viral purred and nudged Jordon again, almost knocking him over. “Okay, okay, I get it.” He scratched Viral on the head before walking around to his back and hoisting himself up.

Danny and Lion jogged over to Viral and hopped onto his back, Danny still holding his book and flipping through it. “I don’t know what he’s doing there, so we should try to find him fast. It shouldn’t take more than a few minutes to get there.”

George nodded as he jumped onto Monarch’s neck. “Got it.” He leaned down and helped Jorel and Dylan up. As soon as they were settled on Monarch’s back, he picked up the reins and tugged on them. Monarch spread his wings and waited as the orange dragon took off first.

Jordon stared up at the dragon as she soared into the air. He wasn’t sure if he was ready for a fight, but if they found the rider, there was no doubt that it would come to that.

Monarch took off. Viral squeaked and quickly launched himself into the air after him, earning a startled yelp from Danny.

Jorel kept his gaze on the ground as it passed by below them, turning from green grass to orange rock. He felt a sharp pang in the back of his head and grimaced. “Ow.”

Dylan walked up to him and sat down. “What’s wrong, homie?”

“Nothing, just a headache.” He rubbed his temple with his fingers. “Ugh.”

“Hey guys!” George shouted. “I think I’m sensing something again!”

Viral flew faster and pulled up next to Monarch. “What is it?” Danny asked.

“Not sure,” George said. “My guess is that it’s another one of those caves. Y’know, the ones that glow when we touch the rock.”

Jorel stood up so he could see more of the ground. He winced as the slight pain in his head got stronger before settling into a faint buzz. “I don’t see anything.”

“Yeah, but it’s getting stronger,” George said. “It might be in the ruins.”

Jorel sat back down and tried to ignore the buzzy feeling in his head as they flew. Tiger chirped and nudged him with her nose. He scratched her behind the horns. “I’m fine. Don’t worry.” A thought presented itself in his head and he frowned. “Wait... I think I might know what this is.”

George scanned the ground as they soared over the land. _You seem worried,_ Monarch said.

“It’s nothing,” George muttered. “I mean, I’m a little concerned about Jordon, but I would’ve thought the rider died in Bullet’s Edge. If he’s out near one of those glowy caves, he might be waiting for us.”

 _We’ll have to be on our guard,_ Monarch said. _Is it getting closer?_

“Yeah. We’re getting there.”

He heard footsteps and turned around. Jorel was walking toward him, one hand resting on Tiger’s head. “Hey.”

George raised a hand. “Hey man.”

Jorel furrowed his brow. “Uh, just out of curiosity, what exactly does this sensing thing feel like again?”

“It’s a buzz in the back of your head,” George answered. “And it kinda pulls you toward whatever the source is. Why?”

Jorel blinked. “Uh... no reason.”

George stared at him for a moment. “Do you think you can feel it?”

Jorel shrugged. “Maybe. I don’t know. I thought it was a headache at first, but it doesn’t really feel that painful.”

George felt his lips twitch upward into a smile. “Looks like you’re really starting to be a hero.”

“I guess,” Jorel mumbled. “It feels weird, though.” He found himself leaning forward towards George. “And it works with sensing the other heroes too, right?”

“Yeah. You learn to ignore that after a while, though.”

Jorel glanced down at the ground. His stomach flipped when he noticed how high up they were, but he swallowed back his fear. Small orange ledges of rock stuck up from the ground, but some of them were jagged, as if a bunch of people had taken pickaxes to the land.

“It looks like humans were here,” Jordon muttered.

“A thousand years ago, maybe,” Danny responded. “The ruins are somewhere around here. Humans probably mined for resources here and built the city that turned into the ruins nearby.”

Jordon craned his neck to see over the ledges in the ground. “I think I see something! Hang on!”

He dug his goggles from his bag and put them over his face. He twisted the knob on the side and stared down at the small pillars of rock in front of them. Among the pillars were a few stone buildings, but most of them had crumbled over time.

Dylan squinted at the ruins. “I don’t see his dragon in there.”

“Maybe it dropped him off there,” Danny suggested. “He could be doing stuff in there while his dragon is hiding somewhere else.”

“Maybe,” George said. “We’ll just have to be careful.”

The orange dragon squawked and swooped down toward the ruins. George tugged on Monarch’s reins and they followed her. Viral trailed after them.

She settled just outside the ruins. Monarch and Viral set down on either side of her. She squeaked and flicked her tail toward a road going straight through the wrecked city.

George, Jorel, and Dylan slid off Monarch’s back. George kept his left hand on the pommel of his sword as he glanced around. There weren’t even any dragon footprints that told them if the rider’s dragon had been here at all.

Jordon and Danny hopped off Viral and walked up to the road, Danny still flipping through his book. He pointed down the road with one hand. “This is the Street of Dreams. It leads directly to the graveyard, where the Massacre Mausoleum is.”

Jorel and George both found themselves leaning forward. Jorel took a step onto the road. “We definitely have to go down there,” he said.

Grenade and Lion hopped off Viral and Monarch and walked up next to their companions. Lion nudged Danny’s shoulder and whimpered. “You guys can’t go in those caves,” he said, scratching her on the head. “Sorry, but we’re gonna have to go in there on our own.”

Grenade grunted in disapproval. Dylan patted his flank. “You’ll be fine. We’ll only be a few minutes.”

Tiger whined, but she hopped off Jorel’s shoulders and landed on Lion’s back. The five heroes exchanged a wary glance, but they started down the street side by side.

Danny shoved his book back in his bag and grabbed his crossbow off his back. “I’m not so sure about this. It could be a trap.”

“Whether it’s a trap or not, the rider is somewhere in here,” Dylan said. “We have to find him.”

“Besides, we should find whatever it is that we’re sensing,” George added. “It might end up being helpful.”

“Maybe,” Jorel grumbled. “The last cave wasn’t super helpful. All that was in there was a ghost who criticized my life choices and then told me to get out.”

“But he also told us where the rider was going,” Dylan pointed out. “We should at least check.”

Jordon lifted his goggles off his head and stared up at the remains of buildings that lined the street. Some of them looked almost like temples, but others were just simple stone huts. A few random pillars were scattered along the side of the road, as if someone had stopped building a temple halfway through.

The street widened and branched out into what looked like a large town square at first glance, but then he noticed that it was littered with crude headstones. Small indents were left in the stones where names had once been carved.

Dylan shivered. “I don’t like this. Why is it in the middle of the city?”

“When people started dying, they must have turned their town square into a graveyard,” George said. “They would have needed a lot of room for all the bodies.”

Jordon grimaced at the gravestones. Being surrounded by death only made him think of how pointless his life was. If the rider killed them here, he would be just another body. No one would be there to bury him or the others. Every trace of their existence would be wiped from the world, and no one would know.

He unsheathed his guns and shoved them in his bag. “George?”

“Yeah?”

He took his bag and held it out to him. “Hold these, please.”

George took the bag and slung it over his shoulder. “You might need them back if we see the rider.”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”

They stared at the graveyard around them. The rising sun should have lit up the square, but the gravestones and ruined buildings cast shadows over the ground.

One building in particular caught their attention. It was built to look like a very small temple, only wide enough for a set of double doors with two pillars on either side. What really seemed different about it, however, was the fact that it wasn’t ruined at all. The grey stone it had been carved from gleamed as if it had just been polished. A few cracks littered the building, but other than that, it was pristine.

“This looks new,” George said.

Danny shook his head. “Nope. This is the Massacre Mausoleum. It was built for someone important who died a thousand years ago, but the book doesn’t say if they were actually buried inside.”

“We have to go in there,” Jorel said. The buzzing feeling was tugging him toward the small building.

George nodded, a slight grimace on his face. “Let’s hope we don’t have to dig up a body.”

Dylan walked up the steps to the mausoleum and grabbed the handle of one of the doors. “What are we waiting for?”

“Just wait, it could be trap!” Danny shouted.

Dylan rolled his eyes and pulled the door open. When nothing jumped out at him, he raised an eyebrow at Danny. “I don’t think the rider would hide in a tomb to ambush us.” He walked in, leaving the door ajar behind him.

Jorel shrugged to himself and followed Dylan into the mausoleum. After a moment’s hesitation, Danny walked up the steps after him.

George nudged Jordon. “You okay?”

Jordon took a deep breath. “Yeah. Let’s go.”

He and George walked up to the doors and stepped into the small building. The inside was fairly small, about the size of a tool shed. A dias sat at the very back, and resting on top of it was a casket.

The five of them stared at it, each of them wondering what was so important in this room that they had to see. The silence was broken when Dylan started walking towards the casket. “Are we supposed to open it or something?”

Danny grabbed his cloak and pulled him to a stop. “Dude, no! We’re not gonna open a casket! What if there’s still a body in there?”

Dylan shrugged. “They’re already dead.”

“Yeah, but it’s disrespectful,” Danny said. “Would you dig up a grave just to look at the body?”

“Probably not, but only because it’s too much effort.”

Jorel hopped up the dias hesitantly touched the casket with one finger. “I don’t think we have to open it.” The buzzing feeling didn’t get any stronger when he touched it, but it was still intense, almost as if...

“We’re standing right on it,” George said. He looked down at the floor. “It’s under the ground.”

“You mean the glowy cave?” Jordon asked. He knelt down and set his hand on the dusty floor. An orange handprint appeared where his skin touched the stone. “Well shit. There it is.”

Jorel hopped off the dias and crouched down next to Jordon, smacking his palm on the floor. A red print lit up under his hand.

The other three knelt to the ground and touched the floor. Three handprints appeared in the stone, and Jordon braced himself as a crack snaked across the floor. The ground split beneath them, and he found himself falling into darkness a moment later.

He barely had time to scream before he hit the ground. The wind was knocked out of his lungs as he landed on his back.

Dylan groaned and sat up. “Rough landing.”

Jordon pushed himself to his feet. The light from the hole above illuminated the area a little bit. There was no sign of a wall anywhere nearby, so he assumed they landed in a large cavern of some sort.

Colourful lines snakes across the floor, lighting up the entire cavern. The five of them stared at the lines as they shot up the curved walls and swirled around their feet.

“Is there anything helpful in here?” Jorel asked.

“I’m glad you asked!”

The five of them all yelled in alarm and drew their weapons at the sound of the voice. They glanced around frantically for whoever was speaking, but no one was there.

Then Jordon noticed that smoky orange mist was rising from the Jordon’s lines on the ground. It swirled together and twisted into a vague silhouette.

Jorel lowered his spear. “Is that... another hero?”

The mist swirled until the shape looked solid. It looked almost like a person. They were much shorter than the guys, even though they were floating slightly above the ground. A cloak with a hood obscured their face, but long hair rested on their shoulders.

Danny gasped softly. “Oh my god, it’s a girl.”

The silhouette tilted her head. “Yeah. Are you surprised?”

Danny’s face flushed red. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude. I just— I mean—”

Dylan slung an arm around Danny’s shoulders. “Don’t mind him, he hasn’t seen a woman in twenty years.”

Danny shrugged Dylan’s arm off. “Stop touching me.”

“Anyway, who are you?” Jordon asked.

The silhouette bowed at the waist. “I am the hero who came before you, Jordon Terrell.” She straightened and looked them up and down. “Only five of you, huh? That’s disappointing.”

Jorel sighed. “Yeah, that’s what the other one said.”

Jordon got the feeling she was smiling. “You met one of the other heroes already?”

“Yeah,” Jorel said. “He wasn’t particularly helpful.”

The hero shrugged. “Well, I’m afraid I won’t be much help either. I’m just here to advise one of you.” She turned to Jordon.

Jordon’s shoulders slumped. “Now you’re going to criticize my life choices?”

She nodded. “Yep. We don’t have a lot of time, so everybody get out! Give us some space!”

Jorel and Dylan exchanged a hesitant glance, but they both shrugged. “Okay,” Dylan said. He drew a dagger and twirled it in his hand. He let it fly through the hole above them, the chain trailing behind it. He wrapped an arm around Jorel’s waist, earning a surprised squeak from Jorel, and then the two of them shot out of the cave.

Danny aimed his crossbow at the hole and fired. An arrow shot from the bow with a rope on the end. He looked at George and held out a hand. “You coming?”

George turned to Jordon. “Yell if you need me.” He took Danny’s hand, and they disappeared into the ceiling.

Jordon took a deep breath and looked at the orange silhouette in front of him. “So what are you going to tell me? That I need to get over myself and stop being a whiny little bitch?”

The hero stared at him. “What? No.” She glided closer to him. “Listen Jordon, I’ve been watching you since you were a _kid_. I knew you had potential, even when you were— you know...” She raised her arms and mimed chopping downwards with a weapon. “Doing that.”

Jordon cringed involuntarily. “I don’t like thinking about that.”

The hero raised her hands. “I know, I know. But even then, the determination you had, and the dedication— that kind of stuff makes a good hero. And when Viral showed up in your house, I _knew_ George was going to choose you.” She landed on the floor in front of him and put both hands on his shoulders. Jordon could hear the smile in her voice when she spoke again. “You have _so_ much potential, Jordon. I know you don’t think so, but you really do. You’re not holding Viral back, you’re not holding George back, you’re not holding the rest of the team back. You’ve helped them in so many ways. Without you, George, Aron, and Jorel would have died in the Grove of Loss. Without you, other dragons on Sunset would still be sick or dying from injuries that wouldn’t heal.”

“But... without me, a lot more dragons would still be alive.”

“Someone else would have killed them anyway,” the hero reminded him. “Besides, at least you made sure their deaths were quick. You always kept your axe sharp, remember?”

Jordon folded his arms and stared down at the ground. “But I’m not a good person. I’ve done so many horrible things, and—”

She sighed. “Jordon, listen to me. I made a lot of the same mistakes you did. I hated dragons and I killed so many of them. When I became a hero, I felt like I didn’t deserve it. I felt like I had to prove myself, and I thought I was tricking the others into thinking I was a good person. I wanted so badly to make up for my mistakes that I left my dragon behind and went to fight the humans off by myself a thousand years ago. I _died_ here. For the past thousand years, I’ve been sitting here on my ass, thinking I could have done more to fix everything I did.”

She shrugged. “But then you came along. Watching your life from the outside, I saw myself. I saw everything you did, and it was like watching my own life. Seeing how much you changed in those few weeks you spent with Viral, I knew you were going to be one of greatest heroes Angeles has ever seen.” Jordon could have sworn he saw a smile flash in the shadows beneath her hood. “You have the makings of greatness in you, Jordon. The only person you’re holding back is yourself.”

With that, she took her hands off his shoulders and stepped back. “By the way, how is my dragon? I know you met him at Hell Mountain, but I haven’t seen him in a thousand years.”

Jordon blinked. “Him?”

“Yeah, I think Danny got confused and called him a ‘she’. It’s the big orange dragon Viral’s been flirting with.”

Jordon nodded. “Oh, yeah. I think he’s fine.”

The hero tugged on the edge of her cape. “I didn’t mean to leave him behind. I just thought I was holding him back.” She shook her head. “I can’t believe he got a bunch of dragons together to build me a tomb. I abandoned him, but he still took care of me after death.” She took a deep breath. “Anyway, I hope you can start to see some of the good things you’ve done. You really are a good person, Jordon. I’m not saying you can’t be sad about the things you’ve done, but just try to focus on some good things. Promise me that, at least.”

Jordon hesitated. It would be hard to focus on good things when his mind kept reminding him of all the bad things he’d done, but maybe he could try.

“I’ll try,” he said. “I can promise that.”

The hero floated backwards. “Thank you. I don’t want to see you die by making the same mistakes I did.” She let out a small gasp. “Oh, I almost forgot! You’re going to have to go to the Underground next. The rider is planning something, and you guys need to stop him before he meets the Jailer.”

“You mean, one of the other Great Dragons? Why is he going after it?”

“I’m not sure, but he’s still somewhere in the ruins. You might be able to catch him now if you hurry!”

Jordon nodded and was about to yell at Dylan to send a dagger down to pull him out of the cave, but he stopped. “Wait... what’s your name?”

The hero paused. “Charlotte.” She turned around, and on the back of her cape were the initials CS written in calligraphy. She glanced back, and Jordon saw her grin beneath her hood. “But you can call me Charlie.”

“Yo Scene!” Dylan’s voice called. “You ready?”

Jordon looked up at the hole above him. “Yeah!”

A dagger lowered itself into the cave, and Jordon grabbed the chain attacked to the handle. He smiled at the hero. “Thanks.”

She waved at him. “Good luck, Scene.”

Jordon’s feet left the ground as Dylan hauled him out of the cave, and the last he saw of the hero was her smile as she dissipated into orange mist.


	24. Quit While You're Ahead

Dylan grabbed Jordon’s arms and pulled him out of the hole. Jordon clambered up and glanced down into the cave as the glowing lines below slowly faded away.

“What did she say?” George asked.

Jordon looked up at the casket on the dias. He remembered what the hero had said about her dragon building a tomb for her. Maybe the orange dragon kept this place together for her.

He held out his hand. “I think I’m gonna need my guns.”

George took the bag off his shoulder and handed it to Jordon. “Hope you know what you’re doing.”

Jordon took his guns from his bag and slipped them back into their holsters. “We need to go after the dragon rider. The hero in there said he was planning something and we need to stop him before he gets to—”

He was interrupted by the deafening screech of a dragon. They all turned toward the door to the tomb. “What’s going on?” Danny asked.

George narrowed his eyes, his hand resting on his sword. “Let’s find out.”

They all rushed out of the mausoleum and glanced around for the source of the screech. The orange dragon swooped towards them and landed on the street in front of the graveyard. She—or rather, he— squawked, and Danny clenched his crossbow tighter.

“The rider’s here,” Danny muttered. “We have to stop him.”

George nodded. “Right. Jordon, come with me.” He sprinted toward the street. “The rest of you, find him on the ground! We’ll surround him!”

Jordon ran after George, drawing both of his guns from his belt. “Where is he?”

“Not sure!” George shouted as they dashed down the road. “We’ll have to search for him and end this!”

They reached the edge of the ruins and Jordon sprinted over to Viral. Viral lowered his head and Jordon clambered onto his back. The thought crossed his mind that Viral should leave and go somewhere safer, but he ignored it as Viral lifted off. They were in this together. Jordon wasn’t going to push him away if he wanted to be here.

Jordon slipped his goggles over his eyes so he could scan the ground below. He spotted Dylan and Jorel on Grenade’s back tromping through the ruins, Tiger twined around Jorel’s shoulders. A few dragons darted at them, shooting bolts of ice from every angle. Dylan whipped at them with his daggers as Jorel jabbed at them with his spear. They were holding up okay, it seemed, but they didn’t seem to have any idea where the rider was.

Lion snaked between columns, dodging shards of ice. Danny shot at dragons that bit at them, but one ducked under one of his arrows and closed its teeth on Lion’s leg. She screeched and shook it off, but her pace slowed and she started limping. Blood leaked into her golden fur and dripped on the ground.

Jordon looked up and stared out over the ruins. He spotted a large white shape ducking behind a cracked stone wall and pointed. “There!”

Viral dived towards the shape. Jordon held onto one of his ridges as they shot forward. He clutched his revolvers, ready for a fight.

Viral landed on the wall and glared down at the ground. The white dragon lifted its head, carrying the dragon rider on its neck. Jordon pointed his gun at him and shot, but the white dragon leaped onto a tall column, digging its claws into the rock and just narrowly avoiding the bullet.

“Hey, Terrell!” the rider shouted. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it? How’d you fare in Bullet’s Edge?”

Jordon grimaced. “That’s not your business!” He shot at the rider again, but the dragon vaulted up and landed on the wall, facing Viral.

“You know, it didn’t take much for me to figure you out,” the rider taunted. “I mean, come on! It was obvious from the start that you were an executioner! Why else would you be so desperate to prove to yourself that were a good person?”

Monarch crashed down on the ground next to the wall. A growl rumbled in his throat as he glared up at the dragon rider. “Leave him alone,” George snarled.

The rider scoffed. “Now you’ve even got him thinking you’re a decent person? You’re manipulating your dragon _and_ the greatest dragon rider in the realm? Just how shitty of a person are you?”

Jordon’s finger twitched on the trigger of his revolver. Before he could shoot, Monarch opened his mouth, his throat glowing blue. A stream of boiling water burst from his maw and slammed against the side of the rider’s dragon. The dragon screeched and toppled off the side of the wall.

Monarch leaped up onto the wall. “You okay, Jordon?” George asked.

Jordon nodded. “I’m fine. Let’s get this fucker.”

The white dragon skittered across the ground, weaving between columns and old temples. Viral and Monarch vaulted off the wall and chased after them. Jordon clenched his teeth and hugged one of Viral’s ridges as they ran.

Monarch grunted as he stumbled over a broken temple. “Keep going!” George shouted at Jordon. “You guys are faster! You can catch him!”

Jordon nodded. Viral lurched forward, snaking between columns and walls after the white dragon. Jordon holstered his guns. He couldn’t shoot like this. Besides, he would rather hit the rider than the dragon, and there was no way he could do that when both of their dragons were running.

The white dragon leaped over an unfinished wall and Viral vaulted after it. Jordon lurched as Viral’s paws slammed down on the ground. Viral opened his mouth and a pillar of fire burst from his throat, engulfing the white dragon’s tail. The dragon screeched and stumbled.

Viral launched off the ground and pounced on the dragon, his claws and teeth bared. Jordon and the rider both toppled off their dragons as they tumbled across the ground. Viral bit the white dragon’s throat and it shrieked. It fired a bolt of ice at Viral’s face.

Jordon pushed himself to his feet. The rider was on the ground, but he braced a hand against a crumbling column and slowly stood up. He reached across his body and drew a dagger from his belt.

Jordon unsheathed both of his guns. The rider rushed at him and he ducked out of the way. The rider’s dagger connected with nothing. Jordon shot at him, but the bullet thudded into a column as the rider lunged for him again. Jordon dropped a gun and grabbed the rider’s wrist, stopping the rider’s dagger mid jab. The rider struggled, but Jordon clutched his wrist tighter.

He raised his other gun to the rider’s face. Jordon should have shot him right then and there, but he hesitated. He’d already taken so many lives. He didn’t want another ghost on his conscious.

“We don’t have to do this,” Jordon offered. “If you agree to stop this, we can all go back to Sunset. Either way, this ends here.”

He heard the pounding of Monarch’s footsteps approaching. If he didn’t kill the rider now, George would do it anyway, but he wanted to give the rider a chance. If other people could see the good in Jordon, maybe he could do that for someone else.

The sound of a thousand leathery wings met his ears and he glanced up. A huge swarm of dragons, even bigger than the rider’s previous army, was circling in the sky far above them. They all dived down at one spot in the ruins, and Jordon heard Monarch’s startled screech echo through the ruined city.

The rider yanked his wrist out of Jordon’s grip and lunged at him with his dagger. Jordon ducked and snatched his other gun off the ground. He skittered backwards and took aim at the rider’s head, but the wind left his lungs in a sharp wheeze when something tackled him to the ground. He looked up and saw a dragon looming over him. It opened its maw and went to snap at his face.

He kneed the dragon in the chest and it coughed, closing its teeth on air. He raised a gun in the air and shot. The dragon squeaked, startled by the sound. It scrambled away from him.

He sat up to see the rider marching after the dragon. “No, you’re supposed to kill him! You’re useless!” he shouted as the dragon flew into the air.

Jordon felt a slight grin twitch across his face. “What, having trouble controlling your soldiers?”

He got the feeling the dragon rider was glaring at him. “Shut up, Terrell. You have no idea what I’m capable of.”

He twirled his dagger in one hand and rushed at Jordon again. Jordon clutched his guns, ready to defend himself, but he didn’t need to. Something ran in front of Jordon, blocking the rider’s blade.

George glanced at Jordon, hefting his shield. “Hey, Scene. Need any help?”

Jordon raised a brow. “Where’s Monarch?”

George shrugged. “He can handle himself. Besides, he’s got backup.”

An angry screech echoed through the air. Jordon spotted the orange dragon darting through the clouds, blowing fire and snapping at smaller dragons. Another dragon flew around them, the sun glinting off its golden fur.

“Hey guys!” a voice shouted. Grenade swooped down at them, and Dylan and Jorel waved at the two of them from on his back.

“Need help?” Dylan shouted.

Jordon pointed to Viral with one hand. “Go help Viral! We’ve got the rider!”

Dylan looked at Viral, who was still wrestling with the rider’s white dragon. They were both riddled with scratches and bite marks, and the white dragon had a few burns on its hide. Flames fluttered between Viral’s teeth as he snapped at the dragon again, but it shot a bolt of ice into his mouth and he choked.

“You got it!” Dylan yelled. Grenade lifted off again and shot towards Viral.

The rider just shook his head at them. He had lowered his dagger and fixed his gaze on George and Jordon. “You can’t win,” he said. “There’s nothing you can do to stop me.”

George clenched his sword. “We’ll see about that.”

He lunged for the rider, but the rider parried his blade with his dagger. “You can’t stop this!” the rider shouted. “Just give up!”

A dragon swooped down at Jordon and he ducked. He couldn’t fight close up with anything using his guns.

He caught a glimpse of George deflecting another blow from the rider. He was about to rush in to help, but a deafening screech echoed through the air and he covered his ears. He looked up, expecting to see Monarch towering above him, but he was taken by surprise when he saw the white dragon there instead. It had vaulted up onto a wall, glaring down at them. Jordon glanced to his left, and his heart skipped a beat when he saw Viral lying on the ground, bleeding from dozens of scratches and breathing heavily. Dylan and Jorel had set down next to him, likely trying to defend him from other dragons, but they’d dropped their weapons when the white dragon screamed.

George gazed up at the dragon. His sword clattered to the ground. “What... what did you do?” he mumbled. Jordon didn’t know why he seemed so shocked.

The rider stepped back. “Like I said, Ragan, you can’t stop this. You should quit while you’re ahead.”

The white dragon stepped off the wall and lowered his head to the ground. The rider hopped onto his back, and none of them moved as he took off into the air.

“George?” Dylan called. “What’s happening? Are we going after him?”

The rest of the dragons in the rider’s army launched into the sky and followed after the white dragon. George just stared blankly at the spot where the dragon had been standing.

“He couldn’t have...” he muttered in a stupor. “There’s no way, unless—” He stopped and gasped. “Monarch!”

He dashed through the ruins, his sword forgotten on the ground. Jorel and Dylan ran after him.

Jordon turned to Viral. “Can you move?”

Viral grunted, but he managed to stand. “Just take your time,” Jordon advised. He patted Viral’s nose, and Viral purred. Jordon sheathed his guns, scooped up George’s blade, and ran after Dylan and Jorel.

He ducked under broken archways and skirted around crumbling pillars. He had no idea why George was so freaked out, but if Jordon could help in some way, he would.

He saw Monarch’s huge form ahead of him and skidded to a stop. Monarch lied in the ruins among crushed walls and columns. Danny, Lion, and the orange dragon had set down next to him and were staring at him with concern. Grenade and Tiger had joined them, along with their two companions. George had collapsed to his knees in front of Monarch.

Then Jordon saw why they were so worried. Monarch’s breathing was shallow and his eyes were half closed. Dozens of scratches lined his hide, but one wound in particular caught Jordon’s attention. It was a small scratch on Monarch’s neck, but the scales around it had turned grey.

Jordon dropped George’s sword and headed straight for Monarch. He nudged Danny aside and knelt next to the wound. It was a jagged cut. It just looked like a scratch made by a dragon’s claws, but the grey scales around it were definitely not normal.

He turned to Danny. “Do you know what happened?”

Danny shrugged. “Monarch just collapsed. I didn’t see anything that might have done this.”

“You can’t fix it.”

Jordon looked at George. He was still on his knees in front of Monarch, but he blinked tears from his eyes. “It’s a magic wound. I... I don’t know how he did it. My sword is the only thing that can do this. I don’t... he shouldn’t be able to...” His voice trailed off.

Jordon felt his heart clench. He’d never seen George like this, and it was easy to understand why. This injury was nothing normal. “What does it do?” he asked.

George’s breath hitched, and he wiped at his eyes. “It deteriorates the body. Any living thing dies from one hit.”

“How long does it take for it fully take effect?”

“Most dragons die within a few hours. Monarch might last longer, but... I don’t know.”

Jordon glanced form George to the wound. He set his jaw, suddenly filled with determination. “Dylan, I need you and Jorel to go to the nearest field and see if you can find any basil. Any kinds of flower buds might helpful too.”

Dylan and Jorel exchanged an apprehensive glance, but when they saw the look in Jordon’s eye, they both nodded. “You got it, Scene,” Dylan said. He and Jorel hopped onto Grenade’s back and they took off.

Jordon started digging around in his bag. “Danny, go to the ocean and get some saltwater.” He dug an empty canteen from his bag and tossed it to Danny. “See if you can find some cilantro on the way there.”

Danny fumbled with the canteen, but he managed to keep it from falling to the ground. “Sure thing.”

He and Lion flew out east. Jordon pulled his mortar and pestle from his bag. He heard Viral’s footsteps behind him and glanced back. “Hey buddy.” He turned to the orange dragon. “I’m gonna be busy and I can’t fix him up. Could you take him to Jack’s Cup? Lava will help him heal faster.”

The dragon nodded once. He grunted at Viral, and Viral started through the ruins towards him. He stopped and lowered his head next to Jordon. He nudged Jordon with his nose, purring a little as he did so.

Jordon patted Viral’s nose and smiled. “Don’t worry, buddy. I’ll come see you as soon as I can.”

Viral and the orange dragon took off into the sky. “Jordon?” George said quietly. “You can’t fix this.” His voice broke a little as he spoke.

Jordon took a pouch of dried herbs from his bag. “Maybe not.” He tossed some herbs into his mortar and started crushing them up. “But I can damn sure try.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> anyway, Time Bomb fucking SLAPS. Jorel's screaming is incredible, Charlie screaming the end of two of his lines was unexpected but wonderful, Johnny sounds amazing, Danny still has the voice of an angel, and Dylan's voice made me feel VERY bi. i am so fucking hyped for New Empire


	25. Notes From The Underground

Jordon was a beast.

None of the others had ever seen the guy so focused on keeping a dragon alive. He crushed up dozens of batches of medicine and covered every single one of Monarch’s wounds, even the small ones. He sent Danny back to the ocean at least nine times for saltwater, and Jorel and Dylan only set down for a few seconds before Jordon would send them away for some more herbs. The orange dragon returned after an hour, and Jordon started sending her out with Dylan, Jorel, and Danny when Lion and Grenade got tired of flying. He seemed to be on autopilot half the time, tossing things into his mortar and mixing them up with saltwater before slathering it on Monarch’s injuries.

George knew it was hopeless. There was nothing they could do to stop the magic spreading through Monarch’s veins.

The whole thing was surreal for George. Losing Monarch was one of his worst fears, and now it was happening right in front of him. He sat in front of Monarch, just talking to him, trying to get in a few last hours of his company before Monarch’s entire body deteriorated and died.

Jordon didn’t ask him to help, probably because he knew George couldn’t do much in his current mental state. George almost wanted to tell him to stop trying. It was almost painful, watching everyone try to save Monarch when their efforts were useless.

Hours later, Monarch’s condition hadn’t changed. His breathing was still shallow, and he had to take a few seconds to process George’s words before he could respond. The magic was taking its toll on him.

That was why George was so shocked when Monarch’s condition began to _improve_.

He took less time to respond to George while they were talking. He opened his eyes more, and his breathing became much smoother. George didn’t know what to make of this, but he assumed it was a last burst of energy before Monarch’s body completely shut down.

Jordon didn’t stop. He kept tossing things in his mortar and sending the others out for herbs and water.

Viral came back a while later with most of his injuries completely healed. He settled next to Monarch and watched his companion work.

It was hours later when Jordon finally slowed. He didn’t stop mixing things in his bowl, but the others got a chance to rest. He kept rushing around by himself, covering the grey wound in Monarch’s neck with dozens of different kinds of medicinal paste.

Danny and Lion left for a bit to get some food and came back with a bunch of fish from the ocean. They also managed to find some vegetables for Jorel. They made a fire in the ruins, and Jorel did his best to cook for everyone else. Dylan offered Jordon some food, but he just kept crushing stuff up in his mortar.

The sky began to darken after a while. George hadn’t even realized how much time had passed. He hadn’t even eaten with the others. The rest of them eventually fell asleep, but he stayed awake. He was too scared to take his attention away from Monarch for even a second. Monarch was dying, and he needed George with him until the end.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and jumped in surprise. He glanced back and saw Jordon standing there with his mortar in his other hand.

“Here.” He held out an apple. “Boner ankle three.”

George blinked. “I think it’s ‘bon apatite’.”

Jordon shrugged. “Still don’t care.” He tossed the apple in the air and George instinctively caught it. “Once you’re done that, you should sleep.”

George was almost shocked that Jordon would even suggest that. “But— but I have to—”

“You don’t have to do anything except for sleep,” Jordon insisted. “Don’t worry. I can take care of him.”

George was about to protest, but he was interrupted when Monarch spoke. _I trust him, George. You can sleep. I’ll still be here when you wake up._

George felt a sob well up in his throat. “But what if you’re not?”

_I will be. I’m too stubborn to die without at least saying goodbye._

George hesitated, but something about the reassuring smile on Jordon’s face made him relax a bit. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah. He’ll be fine.”

George was still a little reluctant, but he took a deep breath and nodded. He could trust Jordon to keep Monarch alive until morning.

He turned in his seat and leaned against Monarch’s arm. He tried not to think about the fact that this would be his last time sleeping at Monarch’s side as he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Monarch was gone when George woke up.

Not “gone” as is “dead”, that is. Monarch just wasn’t there when George opened his eyes. He glanced around frantically, but all he saw was the rising sun and the ruins around him. Dylan and Danny sat at the fire they’d made, munching on dried fish from the night before and roasting more food. Lion and Grenade sat next to them. Jorel leaned against Grenade as Tiger scampered around, snatching up crickets and grasshoppers from the ground.

George felt his heartbeat speed up as panic settled in. “Where’s Monarch?”

Dylan looked up. “Oh, you’re awake.”

Danny gestured to the sky. “Somewhere around there. He should be back—”

The clouds parted, and George sighed with relief as Monarch descended upon the ruins. He landed in front of George, and Viral and the orange dragon swooped down after him. They set down, and Jordon slid off Viral’s back.

He raised his arms above his head and stretched. “Good news: Viral and Monarch are both flying okay. Viral’s a bit sore, but other than that—”

George rushed forward and put a hand on Monarch’s nose. “Are you feeling okay? Is it getting worse? How long do we have before—?”

 _George,_ Monarch interrupted. _I’m not going anywhere. I’m not going to die._

“I know you’re in denial, but you—”

_George, I’m serious. I’m not dying._

George blinked. “What?”

Monarch turned his head to show George the wound on his neck— or, where the wound _should_ have been. All that remained was a faint white scar.

_I’m just as surprised as you are,_ Monarch said. _I don’t know how he did it, but he got the magic out of my system._

George stared at Monarch. He gently placed a hand on his neck where the wound had been. “That’s... that’s impossible. I’ve never seen anyone...”

“It took a lot of work,” Jordon said, walking up to George. “I’ve never treated something so difficult.”

George turned to Jordon. Jordon wasn’t sure why George was so distraught about the situation, but he didn’t protest when George suddenly tackled him in a hug. “Thank you so much,” George said. A relieved sob escaped his throat as he spoke.

Jordon patted George’s back. “No problem, man. It’s no big deal.”

Monarch’s throat rumbled, and he lowered his head next to Jordon. “It is a big deal,” George sniffled. “You saved him. I... I’ve never seen someone survive a wound like that.” His arms tightened around Jordon. “Thank you. I... I don’t know what I would have done if...” His voice trailed off.

Jordon gently pulled away. “So, what was with that scratch? Why were his scales turning grey? I’ve never seen anything like that.”

George wiped at his eyes. “It was magic. My sword is the only thing I’ve seen that can do something like that, but it was just a scratch from a dragon. I... I don’t know how the rider managed to enchant one of his dragons with that kind of magic.”

“So, is he like a wizard or something?”

George shook his head. “No, wizards went extinct a thousand years ago.”

Jorel looked up at them from where he was sitting at the fire. “Wait, wizards actually existed at one point?”

Jordon ignored him. “I guess we’ll have to figure that out later. But you also got all freaked out when you heard his dragon screech yesterday. Why?”

George hesitated and leaned against Monarch. He sniffled and wiped his eyes again. “That was not a normal dragon sound. That was...” He exchanged a glance with Monarch. “That was the roar of a Great Dragon.”

Dylan shot to his feet. “What?”

“What does that mean?” Danny asked. “Is that dragon a Great Dragon?”

“No, I don’t think so,” George said. “At least not yet. I think the rider knows he can’t defeat us with a bunch of normal dragons. He needs something more powerful, so he’s trying to make his dragon stronger than it already is.”

Jordon furrowed his brow in confusion. “Can he really do that?”

George looked up at Monarch. “A new Great Dragon can only be chosen once another one is dead. That must be why he enchanted one of his dragons with that kind of magic. He was trying to kill Monarch, and—”

“That’s why he’s going after the Jailer,” Jordon whispered.

The others stared at him. “What do you mean?” Danny asked.

“The hero I spoke to yesterday,” Jordon said. “The one in the cave. She said the dragon rider was going to the Underground, and we had to stop him before he met the Jailer.”

George’s eyes widened. “He’s going to kill the Jailer.”

Dylan shot to his feet. “Then we have to go. If he left yesterday, he’ll already be there.”

George nodded. “Okay.” He looked up at Monarch. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Monarch grunted in response. George took one last look at the spot on Monarch’s neck where his wound would have been. “Thanks again, Jordon. I don’t know what we would do without you.”

Jordon blinked. The praise was a little unexpected. After all, he’d just been doing his job. “No problem, man.”

Danny shouldered his bag and stood up with Lion. “Should we stop by Jack’s Cup to check on Dove?”

Grenade perked up. Dylan grinned and nudged him. “Aww, you wanna see your girlfriend?”

Grenade huffed in annoyance, but he scuffed his feet on the ground, which Danny took as a sign of embarrassment.

“Don’t worry, Grenade,” Danny said. “You’re not the only one with a love life. Viral’s got a girlfriend now, too.”

“Correction,” Jordon interjected. “Viral has a boyfriend.”

The orange dragon nudged Viral, purring. Viral scuffed the ground with his claws, but he leaned into the other dragon.

Danny raised a brow. “Wait, seriously? I thought it was a girl.”

“Nope. The hero in the cave told me it was a boy.”

Danny squinted at the dragon, trying to see any male sex characteristics. “Well, its claws are longer, so I just thought it was a girl, but now that you mention it, his ridges are smaller, and his teeth...” Danny sighed. “Yeah, that’s totally a boy.”

“Well, whether Viral’s gay or not doesn’t matter right now,” Dylan interrupted. “We have to go get Dove, let her know we’re leaving so she can decide whether to come with us or not, and then haul our asses to the Underground so we can stop the dragon rider.”

“Dylan’s right,” George said. “We have to stop the rider if he hasn’t already met the Jailer. Dylan, you and Danny can go to Jack’s Cup and check up on Dove. We’ll be waiting here.”

* * *

As soon as Danny and Dylan returned with Dove in tow, they all boarded their dragons and took off towards the Underground. Since Danny needed to navigate with his map, he and Lion joined George on Monarch’s back. Dylan, Dove, and Grenade went with them. Jorel stayed far behind Jordon on Viral’s back, with Tiger curled around his shoulders. Dylan concluded that the flight shouldn’t take more than an hour, which was a relief, because he didn’t want to keep yelling across the sky to talk to Jorel.

Eventually, Dylan got bored and decided to bug someone else. He walked up to Danny and peered over his shoulder to look at his map.

“Hey, man, what are you doing?”

Danny whirled around and stepped away from Dylan. “Don’t sneak up on me. I’m trying to navigate.”

“Oh, are you reading about the Underground?” he asked, leaning over Danny’s shoulder.

Danny immediately tensed. “Stop touching me, dude. Seriously.”

Dylan took a step away. “Can you tell us about the Underground? I don’t know jack about the place, and I think we should know what we’re getting into before we land.”

Danny sighed. “Okay. I’ll just read out the names of everything first. I don’t really have time to tell you about everything because I’m _still_ trying to navigate.”

Dylan sat down and leaned back against Dove. “Okay.” He was curious about the Underground, and knowing what they were getting into would make their journey easier.

Danny glanced at George. “You listening?”

George nodded. “Yep. Go ahead.”

Danny took a deep breath. “Okay. There’s the Town of Wicked Things, the Empty Dark Dunes, the No-Way-Out Cave, The Lion’s Den—”

“Ooh, that sounds interesting,” Dylan commented. “You think Lion would like it there?”

Lion rolled her eyes. Danny sighed. “Would you just let me speak?”

“Yeah, whatever.”

“Anyway,” Danny said, flipping to another page, “there’s also the Graveyard of Broken Parts, the Icy Oasis, Rain’s Cavern, Hollow Point, Belief’s Wasteland, The Smoky Sands...” He paused and grimaced. “Oh, I hope that place isn’t like the Valley of the Shadow of Death.”

George glanced over at Jordon. “Yeah, me too.”

Danny thumbed through a few more pages. “Hmm. Well, there’s the Sky of Nowhere— I think I’ll read up on that later— the Medicine Rocks, Light Sky City, the Village of the Ages, the Sick Man’s Sick Land—”

“Try saying that ten times fast,” Dylan snorted.

Danny rolled his eyes. “And New Day’s Drop-Off. I never read about the Underground, so I’m going to have to do a bit more reading. All I know is that it’s covered in sand, and it’s mostly just a desert.”

Dylan gazed down at the sea below them as Danny continued flipping through his book. He was relieved when he spotted land in the distance. They swooped down towards the land and gently set down in the sand.

George slid off Monarch’s back. “We have to go to the Jailer’s Keep,” he said. “If the rider is going after them, we’ll have to find them as soon as possible.”

Dylan landed in the sand. “Yeah. Hey Danny, does your map say where the Jailer is?”

Danny had stopped reading and was staring at his book in amazement. He furrowed his brow and looked over the page again.

“Danny?” Jorel spoke up. “You okay?”

Danny looked up at them with wide eyes. “I don’t think we’re alone here.”

They all jumped when they heard a scream. They all drew their weapons and glanced around for the source of the scream.

Dylan spotted a figure of a person standing in the sand a few metres away. He didn’t know how they hadn’t noticed the person standing there before.

Monarch skittered back in surprise and almost crashed into Viral. The person didn’t move, just stood there and stared at them in shock.

Danny slid off Monarch’s back, shoving his book back into his bag, followed by Lion. He put his crossbow back over his shoulder and held up his hands, showing them that he was unarmed. “Hey! Don’t worry, we’re not here to hurt anyone!”

The person stepped closer to him. “Oh my goodness,” they whispered. Their voice was high and feminine, so Dylan assumed it was a girl. He watched as Danny’s face flushed red.

The lady gazed up at Monarch. A smile stretched across her face. “We _knew_ the legends were true!” she shouted in excitement. She rushed up to Danny, whose face was beet red. “We’ve all been waiting for you. You’re going to help us, aren’t you?”

He opened his mouth to reply, but his tongue stumbled over his words. “I— well, I’m just— uh, I don’t— um...”

She shook her head. “Oh, I’m sorry. I totally forgot to introduce myself. I’m Theresa.”

Dylan heard a squeak of a small dragon and blinked in surprise. A tiny dragon with a round face and gnarled hands wriggled out of the pocket of Theresa’s pants and crawled up onto her shoulder. Its wings were too big for its body, and its large red eyes stared up at Danny with curiosity.

Theresa raised a hand and scratched the dragon’s head with one finger. “And this is Louie. We were just out getting some more healing supplies. We didn’t expect to see all of you here.” She hefted the bag on her shoulder and smiled at Danny. “You should come with me. Everyone’s been waiting for the day you all would arrive.”

He seemed to want to reply, but his voice had completely abandoned him. Dylan walked up and wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

“We’d love to,” he said with a smirk.


	26. Dead Bite

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> doing a Friday update since my family's going to be visiting my sister tomorrow and I won't have time then. I'm probably going to have to update on either Friday or Sunday next week since we're visiting my grandparents next weekend. anyway here's another shitty chapter

The five heroes and their dragons followed Theresa as she led them through the desert. It wasn’t quite as hot as Dylan thought it would be, but that was probably because it was early in the morning. It would get hotter as the day went on.

A few trees stuck out of the sand, each one with a very long, skinny trunk and a few fronds sticking out of the top. Dylan knew they were palm trees, but when Danny asked how he knew what they were called, Dylan just waved his question away.

George stayed on Monarch’s back as the others walked. He had taken his left hand off the hilt of his sword and kept it on Monarch’s neck, like he was trying to make sure Monarch didn’t suddenly disappear. He still seemed distraught over what had happened the day before, and Dylan couldn’t blame him. Jorel had been just as upset after their visit to the Grove of Loss when he thought Tiger had died. Almost losing a dragon had to be one of the worst feelings in the world.

Theresa walked side-by-side with Danny as they trudged across the sand. He seemed a little embarrassed being so close to a girl after not seeing one for about twenty years. His face had taken on a red blush, and it only brightened whenever Theresa looked at him.

“So, where exactly are you taking us?” Dylan asked.

“The Town of Wicked Things,” Theresa answered. “It’s the capital of the Underground, right near the Graveyard of Broken Parts.”

“Wait a second,” Jorel interjected. “When you say it’s a town, do you mean it’s a bunch of ruins, or do you mean, like, an actual town populated by actual people?”

“An actual town,” Theresa answered. “I get that most of the cities and villages in Angeles that aren’t on Sunset Island are just ruins from a thousand years ago, but not here.” She grinned. “People have been here for thousands of years, _way_ before the whole human colonization thing from a thousand years ago. When people tried to take over this place, our ancestors fought to protect our home.” She slid down a sand dune. “Watch your step here!”

Danny slid down after her, but his toe caught in the sand and he tipped forward. He tried to keep his balance, but he started falling. Theresa reached out and caught him, and the blush on his face made him look like a tomato.

He swallowed nervously. “I— I’m so sorry.”

She pushed him back to his feet with a smile. “It’s fine.” She pointed across the sand at a faint shape in the distance. “There’s the town. It won’t be too long of a walk from here.”

“Then let’s go!” Dylan clipped Danny’s shoulder as he ran past him. Grenade tromped after him, and Dove squawked and followed the sound of their footsteps.

* * *

Dylan was shocked to see how many people in Theresa’s town had dragons.

As they approached, people rushed from the town and gathered on the sand around it to gaze up the humongous dragon stomping across the desert towards them. He spotted a few Viral-sized dragons with ridges on their backs, but none of them could compare to Monarch’s massive size. Some people swooped down and landed outside the town on the backs of dragons. Others had full on flocks of dragons following them. Dozens of different kinds of dragons wandered among the crowd, ranging from thick, short-winged dragons that couldn’t fly, to tiny dragons that looked too small for their wings.

Theresa stopped in front of the crowd. Everyone stared at the five of them and their dragons, but Dylan didn’t mind. He liked being the centre of attention.

Dylan heard people muttering amongst themselves in the crowd. The words “Guardian” and “legend” were repeated a lot.

A woman pushed through the crowd. “Reese, where did you find them?” she asked, staring up at Monarch and George in awe.

“They landed here just a few minutes ago,” Theresa told them. “I was out getting more healing supplies, and I saw them come in from the Tragedy Isles. I think they’re here to help us.”

“Actually,” Jorel said, “we’re here to find an evil dragon rider who’s trying to kill all of dragonkind. We need to stop him before he goes after the Jailer.”

“But we can help you guys, too!” Jordon added. “Whatever you need help with, we’re totally okay with putting this on hold to give you a hand.”

Murmurs rose up among the crowd. “We don’t want to intrude on your quest,” the woman at the front of the crowd said. “But we really do need help. Flocks of dragons have been attacking the entire Underground over the past week. Normally, our dragon tamers can calm them down, but these dragons are wild and they don’t listen. They’re mostly snow dragons, too, which is odd for the Underground. They’ve ambushed almost every town.”

“That must be the rider’s army,” Dylan realized. “He’s been bonding with dragons so he can build up an army and use them to kill other dragons. They’ve attacked us more times than I can count.”

“We’ll help you,” George decided. “If these dragons are working with the rider we’re chasing, they might be more dangerous than you think.”

Theresa looked at the woman, who nodded. She turned back to the five heroes. “You should all come into town. We can explain everything we know.”

* * *

Dylan wasn’t surprised to see that the streets in the town were wide enough for Monarch to walk through. This place was full of companions, so they would obviously make their towns big enough for large dragons to wander through.

What was really odd, however, was the way everyone reacted to the five of them. People ran out of buildings to gaze at them as they passed. Some people cheered from the sides of the road as if they were watching a parade, and a few even began weeping tears of joy. Dylan watched as a man popped open a bottle of wine and started pouring drinks for his friends as they cheered.

The woman, whose name was Asia, had hopped onto the back of a thick dragon with smaller wings and was letting it carry her through the street. The rest of them followed her. Dove let Jorel ride on her back so he wouldn’t be the only one walking. Jordon and George remained on their own dragons, and Theresa had asked a very bashful Danny if she could ride on Lion with him. He managed to stammer out the word “yes”, and Theresa sat behind him with her arms around his waist as Lion trotted after the others.

Dylan sat on Grenade’s back, smiling and waving at the crowds on either side of him. The attention was nice, especially since he’d been living alone with only dragons for company for years. Sure, Jordon stopped by sometimes, but not often. It felt good to be around so many people at once.

Lion pulled up next to Grenade. Dylan glanced at Danny, whose face was flushed red as Theresa leaned her head against his back.

“Hey Danny,” Dylan said with a smirk. “How’s it going?”

Danny swallowed nervously. “Uh, I’m good.”

Dylan turned to Theresa. “So where are we going?”

“To the town square,” she answered. “Asia and I will explain about our problem, and we’ll see what we can do to help you guys with yours.”

Dylan looked up as the street widened into a huge town square. Dragons and their companions wandered through, but they all stopped in their tracks when Monarch entered the square.

Asia’s dragon trotted over to the middle of the square. “You guys can lay down wherever,” Asia said. “We have our council meetings here all the time, so there’s plenty of room.”

Viral curled up close to the edge of the square. Another Viral-sized dragon trotted up to him and sniffed at Jordon.

Dove and Grenade approached Asia and lied down. Jorel almost toppled off Dove’s back, but Dylan reached out and put a hand on his shoulder to steady him.

Lion lied down next to Grenade. Theresa stood up from Lion’s back and smiled at Danny. “Thanks for the lift.”

He opened his mouth to respond, but no sound came out. She didn’t seem to notice and walked up to Asia. She sat on the ground and leaned against Asia’s dragon.

“So,” Asia began as she joined Theresa on the ground. “You guys are here chasing a dragon rider?”

George slid off Monarch’s back as Monarch lied down in the square. “Yes,” he said. “He’s been attacking us, and he even hurt one of his own dragons.” He gestured to Dove.

Asia and Thresa exchanged a glance. “Well, it might be difficult to single out just one dragon rider here,” Asia said. “There are tons.”

“Why don’t you tell us what he looks like?” Theresa suggested.

Jordon dug his goggles from his bag. “He’s got goggles like these.”

“And he wears a cloth over the lower half of his face,” Dylan added.

“So you don’t know what his face looks like?” Asia asked.

They all shook their heads. Asia sighed. “Okay. Then this may be harder than we thought. Could you tell us exactly what it is that he’s doing?”

“He’s bonding with tons of dragons so he can build up an army and use them to kill all the other dragons in the realm,” George explained. He leaned against Monarch, his hand on his sword. “He doesn’t like dragons, but it is a little... twisted. He gets along well with the dragon he rides most.”

“It’s a snow dragon,” Jordon said. “It looks kinda like Viral here, but it’s white.”

Asia scratched her chin, deep in thought. “I haven’t seen any white dragons like that lately, but we have seen tons of snow dragons. Just over a half hour ago, a flock of snow dragons attacked a town nearby. The weird thing about them, though, was that a bunch of the people who were scratched or bitten by these dragons... their skin literally turned _grey_.”

“Everyone who got injured died, and there are still people who are dying from it,” Theresa said. “Do you have any idea why that’s happening?”

George looked at Jordon. “Well... it’s complicated. It’s some sort of magic that deteriorates the body and kills a being from the inside out. The only thing I thought could do that was my sword, but now this rider is somehow enchanting his dragons to have that same kind of power. I don’t know how. It should be impossible. It almost killed Monarch.”

Other dragons and their companions in the square gathered around them and sat down, listening in the conversation. Asia tapped her finger against her chin as her dragon licked at her hair.

“Then this dragon rider is just as much our problem as it is yours,” she said finally. “We’re going to help you catch him as best we can.” She looked George in the eye. “But I would like to make a request.”

“Name it,” George said.

Asia stood up. “The Jailer has been acting up lately. We don’t know what’s wrong with her, but people keep hearing her roaring from her Keep, and there have been earthquakes around the north edge of the Underground where her Keep is. You have a Great Dragon, so maybe you’ll know what’s wrong with her.”

George looked up at Monarch. Monarch rumbled deep in his throat and George nodded. “We may have to go see the Jailer anyway,” George admitted. “We think the dragon rider might be going after her.”

Asia’s eyes widened. “Really? Then we should get to the Keep immediately! If he’s trying to take down the Jailer—”

“Asia!”

She looked up as a large dragon swooped down upon the town. It landed in the square, and someone slid off its back from between two of its ridges. He seemed about to say something, but he stopped when his gaze slid over Monarch. “Whoa, is that the Guardian?”

Asia sighed. “Brian, what are you here to tell me?”

Brian shook his head. “Right, right!” He cleared his throat. “I’m here with a message from Village of Ages. There’s a shit ton of dragons gathered around the No-Way-Out Caves, and they’re all snow dragons. A bunch of companions approached them and almost got killed. These dragons are hostile and we need backup.”

“We’ll help,” Dylan blurted.

Danny blinked. “I thought we were going to help the Jailer.”

“But this is the rider’s army!” Dylan protested. “If he’s there right now, we have to do something!”

Theresa stood up. “I’ll come with you. If there are people being hurt, we might need more healers.”

Asia nodded. “Good idea. We’ll keep building up defenses here. If your rider is attacking people...” Her voice trailed off and she hesitated. “Well, we may have a war on our hands.”


	27. Another Way Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here's another Friday update since i won't have my laptop tomorrow. anyway, i hope you enjoy this chapter even though i didn't have much time to edit and there might be some errors.

As soon as Viral and Monarch touched down on the sand, Asia and her dragon clambered off Monarch’s back and ran up to the huge, gaping caves towering in front of them. “Oh no...” she whispered.

It was easy to see why she was distressed. Dragons and companions alike were lying in the sand around the caves, each one bleeding from various wounds. Some of them looked up as Monarch landed, but most of them were too weak. Dylan’s breath hitched when he saw how many of their wounds were surrounded by grey skin or scales.

Theresa and Jordon both hopped off Viral’s back and ran up to the injured crowd. “What happened here?” Jordon asked, digging his mortar and pestle from his bag.

A screech of a dragon met Dylan’s ears, and he looked up. Dozens of dragons had settled on the tops of the caves. They glared down at the heroes and their dragons, and Dylan could see their white eyes even from where he was standing.

“They’ve been attacking anyone who gets close,” one person said. They grimaced and leaned against their dragon, clutching a wound in their side. They nodded towards Viral. “A ridgeback dragon like yours went into the caves. It’s a white snow dragon. We tried to go in to investigate, but more dragons showed up and attacked us before we could go in.”

Asia watched as a few healers rushed about, trying their best to fix everyone up despite their own wounds. She turned back to look at George. “Do you think this is the dragon rider you’ve been searching for?”

George nodded from where he still sat on Monarch’s neck. “It must be. We can’t let those dragons touch us. They’ll just kill everyone here.”

“And we need to get inside the cave,” Jordon added. “But they’ll attack us if we try.”

Jorel squinted at the dragons perched on top of the huge cave. “What do we do?”

George scratched the back of his neck. “Monarch? Ideas?”

Monarch narrowed his eyes at the snow dragons, then at the injured companions and dragons in the sand, then down at the other heroes. A growl rumbled deep in his throat, and George furrowed his brow at whatever Monarch had said. “Are you sure?”

Monarch nodded. George took a deep breath. “Alright.” He looked down at Asia. “We can distract them while someone goes in there. We’ll have to be careful since it wouldn’t take much for them to kill us, but we can lead them away long enough to get someone into the caves.”

Theresa shot an apprehensive glance at the caves as she mixed up herbs with her own mortar and pestle. “Well, I’m not going in. We need healers out here.”

“I’ll go.”

Danny and Dylan looked at each other when they heard each other speak at the same time. Danny stepped away from Dylan and hunched his shoulders. “Uh, I can stay out here if you—”

Dylan walked up to Danny and nudged him. “Come on, homie. We can go in together. It’ll make some good team bonding.”

Danny grimaced and stepped away. “For the last time, stop touching me.”

Jorel peered into the cave. “Just be careful in there, okay? Something about it makes me nervous.”

Asia nodded in agreement as she helped an injured companion sit down next to their dragon. “It is a dangerous place. Once you go in, the entrance blocks itself and you have to find another way out. A lot of people have died in there because of it. I don’t even know if your dragon rider will even be able to make it out.”

Jordon scowled. “Well, he’s survived through plenty already. Pretty sure he’s totally fine. Unfortunately.”

George raised Monarch’s reins. “Viral? Wanna help?”

Viral puffed his chest out proudly and nodded. George turned to Jorel. “Get on Viral’s back.”

Danny and Dylan turned to the cave towering above them as Jorel hoisted himself between two of Viral’s ridges. “It looks dark,” Danny observed. His voice shook with fear.

Dylan shrugged. “We’ll be fine. You still got your lantern?”

Danny dug around in his bag and took out his lantern. “Yeah, hang on.” He opened the lantern and held it up to Lion. She blew a stream of glowing yellow mist into the chamber and he shut the lantern. The light cast an angelic halo over his face as he turned to look at Dylan. “Ready?”

Dylan nodded. Dove and Grenade trotted up next to him. “Let’s go, homies.” He started into the cave, his two dragons tromping along behind him. Danny hurried forward with Lion.

“Be careful!” Jorel called out.

Danny and Dylan stopped inside the entrance to the cave. “Don’t worry, homie! We’ll be just—”

A wall of rock slammed down in front of the opening. Danny jumped in surprise as a _bang_ echoed off the stone. They were plunged into darkness, and Lion breathed out a stream of mist to illuminate the cave. Stone walls stretched far above them and disappeared in the shadows. The walls sparkled with tiny flecks of crystal, but the shine only seemed to absorb the light from Danny’s lantern, leaving them in shadows. It looked almost as if they had walked into a giant geode. Neither the dragons nor their companions could see the ceiling of the cave. They could barely see five feet in front of them. Danny shuddered as he gazed into the dark.

Dylan stared up at the stone wall that had blocked the entrance. “Well. Let’s go.”

Danny gulped and nodded. “Okay.”

They started into the cave. Dylan couldn’t see anything that wasn’t in the small circle of light produced by Danny’s lantern, aside from the few sparkles in the walls of the cave. Lion let out a whimper and sidled closer to Danny, glancing nervously at the shadows.

Dylan, however, didn’t really mind the dark. He’d spent so much time living in a forest and sneaking into towns at night that he was used to the darkness.

Still, something about this place sent a chill up his spine. It felt oddly familiar, but he couldn’t place how. He was sure he’d never been here before. Voices whispered at him in the darkness, but he couldn’t make out what they were saying.

He hadn’t realized he’d been straying from the group until he heard Danny’s panicked voice. “Dylan? Dylan, where are you?”

He turned to see Danny standing in the middle of the cave, holding out his lantern and searching for Dylan, who had wandered towards the left wall. He quickly rushed over to the circle of light.

Danny jumped as Dylan appeared out of nowhere. “Dude, holy shit. Stay with us, man. I can’t see you in the dark.”

Grenade nudged Dylan’s hand, and he scratched Grenade behind the horns. “Sorry. I just... I feel like I’ve been here before. I don’t know why.” The voices in the shadows got louder, and he found himself trying to listen to what they were saying.

Danny swallowed. “Let’s just keep going. We have to find the rider.”

They continued through the cave. Dylan stayed at the front of the group, his two dragons right behind him. He scanned the darkness as best he could for any sign of the rider and his dragon, but he saw nothing— obviously, because it was pitch black and he didn’t exactly have a flashlight with him. The faint voices in the shadows hissed at him, and he stayed quiet, trying to hear what they were saying.

He tripped over a rock on the ground and stumbled out of the light. “Dylan, be careful!” Danny shouted in a panic. Dove squeaked in agreement.

A slight jolt of annoyance shot through Dylan. “Dude, I’m fine. Chill out for a second.”

Danny rushed to catch up to Dylan. “I just don’t want to get separated in here. If the rider finds us and we’re totally lost, we’re dead.”

“We’ll be fine.” Dylan flicked his wrist, and one of his daggers shot into his hand. “We can defend ourselves.”

They paused when the whole cave shook. Rocky dust rained down from the ceiling far above them.

“They must be fighting the rider’s dragon army,” Danny muttered.

“Well, let’s keep going,” Dylan said. “The sooner we find that bitch, the sooner we can get out of here and help them.”

Danny nodded and followed Dylan further into the shadows. Dylan had no idea where the dragon rider might be. He hadn’t seen how many tunnels there were from outside. He hoped that they could find the rider soon. The whispers in the dark hissed at him, and he shuddered as one of the voices muttered something right in his ear.

He slowed a little so he was walking next to Danny. Maybe talking would help him ignore the voices. “Hey, did you do any more reading while we were flying here?”

Danny shrugged. “A little. I was just going through the list of places. I only read about the first two so far, so I didn’t really get to this place.”

“Could you read about it now?”

Danny held his lantern out to Lion, and she took it in her mouth. “I guess now’s as good a time as any.” He dug around in his bag and brought out his book. He thumbed through the pages until he stopped on the page for the No-Way-Out Caves. He cleared his throat and began reading from the book. “‘The No-Way-Out Caves consist of dozens of stone tunnels that twist under and over the ground. Once a person enters one cave, it closes off and connects itself to other tunnels with different exits. There is no way to leave unless whoever enters can find one of the other ends of the tunnel. It’s not uncommon for adventurers to get stuck in dead ends and get lost. Many adventurers have died in the caves, wandering for days without food or water.’” He pressed his lips into a thin line. “Well. That sounds fun.”

Dylan let out a low whistle. “Wow. Guess we should have prepared.”

“I’ve got a canteen and some dried food in my bag,” Danny said. “We’d be fine for a couple days, if it came to that.” He shut his book and put it back in his bag. “I think we’ll be fine though.” He took his lantern back from Lion.

“I hope so,” Dylan mumbled. He squinted through the darkness. He still couldn’t see anything, but the feeling that he’d been there before wouldn’t leave him alone. Something about wandering through the dark, hearing voices, and having nothing but Danny’s lantern for light felt oddly familiar to him. He figured that he was just thinking of the Grove of Loss and pushed the feeling aside. He needed to stay focused on finding the dragon rider.

He felt something pull him to a stop by his cape. He turned around to shoot an annoyed glance at Danny. “What?”

“I heard something,” Danny whispered. “Be quiet.”

Dylan scoffed. He’d been hearing things this whole time! It wasn’t a big deal.

Still, he did as Danny asked. He stayed quiet and tried to listen.

A quiet screech echoed off the walls. Danny and Dylan turned around. Danny raised his lantern, and Dylan spotted faint shadows fluttering through the darkness, and a pair of eyes flashed among the crystal on the walls.

Danny stepped back. “Please tell me those are just bats,” he whispered.

More eyes appeared in the darkness, and another screech reverberated through the cavern.

“I don’t think so,” Dylan whispered back. He spun a dagger on its chain, ready for a fight.

Just as a creature launched off the wall and lunged for them, Danny grabbed Dylan’s wrist and pulled him down the tunnel. Their dragons’ footsteps pounded against the ground as shadowy creatures fluttered down from the walls and screeched angrily.

“Dude, we can fight them!” Dylan protested.

“We have to find the rider!” Danny shot back. “We can’t do that if those things kill us!”

The flapping of leathery wings got louder, and screeches mingled with the whispered voices in the darkness, which only got more persistent the more they ran. A creature squawked in Dylan’s ear. He ducked just as its jaws snapped next to his ear.

Danny grabbed his crossbow off his back and twisted around. He fired a bolt into the darkness, and Dylan heard a screech followed by a soft thud as one of the creatures fell to the ground.

Dylan whipped his dagger at one of the creatures. It squawked and fell to the ground, but that didn’t seem to deter the rest of the swarm chasing them. The creatures darted after them, not letting up even when Danny nailed three more with his crossbow. Grenade squeaked as a creature nipped at his wings, and Dove nudged him forward with a defensive screech at the swarm.

A faint rumbling echoed off the walls ahead of them. Danny held up his lantern, and another tunnel Dylan hadn’t noticed came into view. It branched off of the one they were currently being chased through, and when the growl met their ears again, it seemed to be coming from the new tunnel.

A loud bang echoed through the tunnel, and Dylan turned to see that a wall of rock had slammed down behind them at the entrance of the tunnel. He and Danny came to a stop, breathing heavily.

Danny stared up at the rock. “Well. That was... eventful.” He turned and started through the tunnel. “We have to be careful. Keep an eye out.”

Dylan glanced around the dark cave as they walked into the new tunnel. He’d made a mistake when he volunteered to go in here. He should have stayed outside and helped the others fight the dragon rider’s army. He shivered when another voice hissed in his ear.

They heard a faint _tink_ up ahead of them, as if someone was chipping away at the walls.

Danny skittered to a stop. “What was that?” he whispered.

Dylan shook off his surprise and kept going. “Hopefully the rider.”

Danny followed him. “Slow down, man. I can’t keep up.”

“Maybe you should walk faster.”

They stopped when they heard a faint voice. Dylan stopped in his tracks and listened. Someone was speaking in a hushed voice. The voice paused, and the growl of a dragon rumbled through the air in response.

Dylan clenched his dagger. “It’s the rider,” he whispered. He started running forward, but Danny grabbed his cape and yanked him to a stop.

“Dude, we can’t just rush in there!” Danny hissed. “We’ll take him by surprise. If we run in there with no plan, we’re fucked.”

Dylan sighed. The dragon rider was right there! They should just get in there, get rid of him, and then focus on finding a way out!

But Danny’s worried expression was enough to convince him. “Fine. Hide your light or he’ll see us.”

Danny tucked his lantern into his cloak. Light ricocheted off the metallic fabric for a moment before he covered it almost completely. They were plunged into near darkness, so Dylan reached out and grabbed Danny’s now free hand so they wouldn’t get separated. Danny tensed at the contact, but he seemed to realize that it was necessary, because he didn’t pull away. Lion sidled up close to him and licked at his hair, making it stand straight up. She twisted her tail around Danny’s other arm. Dove and Grenade twined their tails together, and Grenade took the end of Dylan’s cloak in his mouth so they wouldn’t stray from the group.

Once they were all grouped together, Danny and Dylan started forward with their dragons in tow. It was extremely difficult to see, but they kept going. They had to get rid of the rider here and now.

A small pinprick of light came into view. They made their way towards it at a snail’s pace. Dylan wanted to rush towards it and get this whole thing over with so he could go back home with all of his dragons, but Danny kept his grip tight on Dylan’s hand and wouldn’t let him run.

They grew closer to the voice. They spotted a faint figure holding a lantern fueled by a glowing blue icicle. A large shape loomed over the silhouette. The voice became more audible as they approached, and they stayed quiet so they could hear what the rider was saying.

“We can hold our ground,” he said quietly. “Once we take out one of the Great Dragons, we can take its place together and get rid of the rest.”

The dragon’s throat rumbled. Danny leaned in to whisper to Dylan. “His dragon is upset. It thinks he might do the same thing to it that he did to Dove.”

“I would never,” the dragon rider’s voice cooed. A hand reached out from the silhouette and touched the nose of the dragon in front of him. “You’re different. You trust me. You want power the same way I do. I understand why you doubt me. I’m not exactly the perfect dragon rider. But we want the same thing— to be the most powerful members of our species. Once we get relics from the Restless Spire and God’s Vision, we can work up enough magic energy to enchant the rest of our army and take the Great Dragons down, no problem. We will take their place. We can rule the world together.”

A pause, and the dragon purred. “ _Dios mio_ ,” Dylan whispered. The rider was manipulating his dragon into trusting him. Just how shitty was this guy?

Danny furrowed his brow. “What language was that?”

Dylan waved his hand, not wanting to waste time with explanations. “Spanish. You wouldn’t know it.” He gestured to the rider with his dagger. “He’s manipulating his dragon. He’s lying to it. He told us he wants to kill all dragons, but he’s telling it something totally different.”

Danny nodded. “Either that, or he lied to us. Not sure why he would do that, but...” He shrugged. “Everyone has their reasons.”

Dylan tightened his grip on his dagger. “We should ambush them.”

“No.” Danny let go of Dylan’s hand and held his crossbow in both hands. “I can get him from here. If I miss, they still won’t see us and I can get another shot. If I miss again, then we attack. Just stay outside of their light.”

Dylan wanted to protest, but he couldn’t deny that it was a decent plan. Still, he really wanted to get this done quickly so they could leave. The whispers in the shadows around him sent chills up his spine. He felt fine with the dark before, but the voices were starting to freak him out. He couldn’t stand waiting around for Danny to kill the rider.

Danny looked down the shaft of the arrow that had miraculously appeared nocked in his crossbow. He pulled he string back and aimed. Dylan clenched his teeth, waiting as seconds passed. Seriously, how long did it take to aim?

The arrow shot from the bow. It zipped past the rider’s head, and Dylan cursed under his breath as the bolt clattered against the cave wall.

The rider looked up from his dragon and glanced around. “Did you hear that?” he asked. The dragon growled and raised its head.

Lion spread a wing in front of Danny to hide the light from their lantern better. Dylan, Dove, and Grenade stepped away, easily blending into the shadows. Dove let out a faint whine, and Dylan prayed the rider hadn’t heard it.

Danny nocked his bow again. “One more, then you can run in,” he whispered.

Dylan nodded. Lion lowered her wing, and Danny raised his bow. The rider swept his gaze across the cave and took a step backwards. Danny muttered a curse, trying to keep his aim steady. He looked down the arrow and took a deep breath.

His arrow hit the cave wall. The rider whirled around to look at it.

Dylan flicked his other dagger into his hand sprinted forward. The rider must have heard his footsteps pounding on the stone, because he turned back to look and skittered away. Dylan skidded to a stop outside the circle of light from the rider’s lantern, holding one of his daggers by the chain. He spun it and whipped it towards the rider. The blade grazed his arm and he yelped in surprise. His dragon growled and opened its mouth, its throat glowing white.

Grenade launched off the ground and shot towards the white dragon. He raked his claws across its face and it screeched in pain. Grenade braced his legs against the wall and roared. The dragon tried to turn to face him, but the cave ceiling was too low for it to move well, so it just butted its head on the wall with a yelp.

Dylan heard a screech behind him and glanced back. Dove leaped over his head, teeth and claws bared. She closed her mouth on the rider’s arm and he shrieked. He drew his dagger with his free hand and went to stab her in the head, but a small arrow zipped in from the darkness and embedded itself in his shoulder.

Dove released his arm and snapped at his face, but he ducked and ran around her. His lantern fell and the glass smashed on the stone. The glowing icicle clattered to the ground and immediately began to melt.

Dylan glanced around frantically as the rider disappeared in the darkness. “Shit,” he muttered. If the rider ran away and they lost him, this whole venture into the caves would be pointless.

The dragon roared at Grenade, who yelped in surprise and scampered towards Dove. The two of them backed away from the dragon as it growled.

“Dylan!” Danny’s voice shouted. “Where are you?”

Dylan stayed quiet. If he responded, that would give away his location, and the rider would be able to find him.

“Dylan!” Danny called again.

Silence. He heard Danny curse in the darkness, and then the cave was filled with light.

Dylan squinted and raised an arm to shield his gaze. He caught a glimpse of Lion flying from wall to wall, glowing yellow mist trailing from her maw and settling on the ground. Danny had taken out his lantern again, and the light bounced off his metallic cloak and sent beams of light darting through the cave. The white dragon blinked in the sudden brightness.

Dylan spotted the rider darting through the light and whipped his dagger at him. The chain twisted around the rider’s arm and he pulled, yanking the rider to a stop. He pulled on the chain around his wrist, trying to free himself. Something about this situation sent a jolt of déjà vu through Dylan, but he still couldn’t place where he had seen it all before.

Grenade lunged at the white dragon again. The dragon rider grumbled under his breath. “You fuckers are ruining everything!” he shouted. He pulled on the chain, and Dylan slid across the cave floor. He braced his feet against the stone, trying to stand his ground.

The white dragon screeched as an arrow from Danny’s crossbow thudded into its face. The rider glanced back at the sound, and Dylan grabbed his chain with both hands and yanked on it. The rider stumbled towards him. “Fuck you, Alvarez!”

Dylan let go of the chain with one hand and spun his other dagger on its own chain. He was about to whip it towards the rider, but the rider’s words sent a pit of dread into Dylan’s stomach.

Something was going to happen now. Something bad.

The white dragon opened its mouth and shot a bolt of ice at Dove and Grenade. Dove leaped out of the way, but Grenade wasn’t as fast as she was. The icicle grazed his flank, and he squeaked as blood bloomed from the gash it left behind.

Panic flared up in Dylan’s mind. His chain untangled itself from the rider’s arm and he sprinted towards Grenade. He couldn’t let anything happen to his dragon.

The white dragon fired a bolt of ice at Dylan. He skidded to a stop just as it crashed into the space in front of him. He skirted around the huge icicle and started for Grenade again, but the rider rushed at him from the side and swiped at him with his dagger. Dylan parried the blow, but the rider jabbed at his head and he just narrowly dodged the blade.

Dove leaped at the white dragon, but it fired a bolt of ice at her and she went down with a squawk. The dragon swiped its tail across the ground and smacked Grenade. He flew across the air and crashed into the cave wall. Danny and Lion ran towards him, but the dragon snapped at them and they ducked out of the way. Danny fired an arrow at it. It didn’t seem to affect the dragon much, and it swiped its tail in their direction.

Dylan raised his dagger as the rider slashed at him. He had to help the others, but there wasn’t much he could do. The rider had him locked in a fight.

The breath left his lungs in a sharp burst as someone tackled him from the side. They crashed to the ground just as a huge icicle pierced the rock where he had been standing a moment before. He glanced at the person who had tackled him and saw Danny’s metallic golden cloak gleaming in the light.

Danny scrambled to his feet and hefted his crossbow, aiming it at the rider. Before he could shoot, the rider sprinted towards his dragon, and Danny’s arrow clattered against the stone.

Dylan shot to his feet and ran after the rider. He had to stop him before he—

Before he what? What was Dylan so scared of?

He shook the thought out of his head as the rider clambered onto his dragon’s back. “Sorry, Alvarez,” the rider called. “But we’re going to have to cut this short.”

The dragon crouched lower to the ground and tilted its head so it was looking at the ceiling. It opened its mouth, and a huge icicle crashed into the rock. Cracks snaked through the cave, and Dove yelped and skittered out of the way as the ceiling collapsed.

Danny grabbed Dylan’s wrist and dragged him away as rock crashed down all around them. He tried to pull away, but Danny’s grip was like iron. He had to help Grenade! Couldn’t Danny see that?

He coughed as the dust settled. Despite the light streaming into the cave from the sky, it was still pitch black. Lion opened her mouth and glowing mist spilled across the ground. Dylan glanced around frantically for Grenade, and his stomach dropped when he saw his dragon on the ground, a huge chunk of rock pinning him down by the wing. He whimpered and flailed, trying to get free.

A white dragon paw grabbed the rock and tossed it away. Grenade scrambled towards Dylan, but the paw reared back and smacked him. He flew through the air and hit the wall with a sickening _crack_.

Dylan was running towards Grenade before he knew what he was doing. Somehow, he knew he couldn’t do anything to stop what was happening, but as the paw reached out and grabbed Grenade, panic overwhelmed every other thought and he ran faster.

The white dragon lifted Grenade into the air. He was completely limp as if he was unconscious, and blood leaked from a large wound on his head. Dylan’s heart skipped a beat when he realized that Grenade might be _dead_. The rider leaned down to speak to Dylan.

“You heroes sure are dependant on your dragons!” he shouted. “Let’s see if you can keep up your motivation without one!”

The white dragon spread its wings and shot through the hole in the ceiling, Grenade’s limp body still in its grasp. “GRENADE!” Dylan screamed.

The only response he received was the howling wind above as the white dragon flew into the sky with his best friend.

He stared into the sky at the quickly shrinking silhouette of the dragon. There was no way he’d be able to catch up to them. His legs shook, and he didn’t remember sitting down, but he found himself on his knees with Danny crouched next to him. Dove nudged Dylan’s hand so his arm was draped over her, and Lion licked at his hair, but he said nothing. He just blinked up at the sky. Maybe this wasn’t real. Maybe this was a dream.

No, no it wasn’t. This couldn’t be a dream. He already had this dream before. He knew that now. That was why everything seemed so familiar. That was why he knew what was going to happen. He already dreamed about this happening, but he couldn’t do anything to stop it.

That thought felt like a punch in the gut. It snatched the breath from his lungs and left him gasping for air. Tears sprang to his eyes as his breathing quickened. The word “hyperventilating” came to mind, but he couldn’t remember how to make himself stop. The only thought in his mind was Grenade.

He was barely aware of Danny’s hand on his shoulder. “Dude, it’s okay,” Danny’s quiet voice said. “Take deep breaths.”

Danny gently pulled Dylan towards him and wrapped his arms around his shoulders. Dylan’s breath hitched every time he tried to inhale, and a pang of concern for himself worked its way through the thoughts of Grenade. He could end up passing out if he couldn’t get himself to breathe properly.

Danny seemed to realize this too, because he gently pulled away a little so he could look at Dylan. “Take deep breaths with me, okay?”

He slowly breathed in, and Dylan tried to do the same. He hiccupped a couple times, but when Danny breathed out, he managed a shaky exhale without too much trouble. The second breath was easier.

Danny pulled him back into a gentle embrace. Dylan choked back a sob as Danny reached up and ran a hand through Dylan’s hair.

Grenade was gone.


	28. We Are

George stood up from where he had been crouched next to a dying dragon as Jordon desperately tried to heal it. He and the others had driven away most of the dragon rider’s army, but not everyone escaped unharmed. Some other dragons and their companions had tried to help, but a few of them had been bitten or scratched by the rider’s enchanted dragons. The one Jordon was currently working on was close to dead, and its companion was sobbing into Asia’s shoulder.

Jorel brushed past George with an armful of herbs. “Have the other two come out of the caves yet?” he asked. Tiger snapped at a flower bud, and Jorel gently pushed her nose away.

George shook his head. “Nope. Let’s hope they get out here soon.”

Jorel nodded and moved on towards a healer who was busy working on an injured companion. George glanced up at the closed cave that Dylan and Danny had disappeared into. He hoped they were okay.

Someone raised their hand to be seen above the crowd. “We need assistance!”

George immediately rushed towards them. Everyone who wasn’t injured bustled about, trying to save as many dragons and companions as they could. Many had already died, and no one wanted to move the bodies. It must have been a long time since something like this happened in the Underground, because no one seemed quite sure of what to do.

Eventually, someone looked up at the huge blocked off cave entrance and spotted something moving in the sky. They pointed at it and shouted to the others. “Hey! I think the other heroes are back!”

George, Jordon, and Jorel all looked up. Sure enough, two faint shapes soared through the sky directly towards them. There was no trace of a third shape among them, so the heroes on the ground began to wonder if Dove had wandered off to somewhere safer.

The two swooped down and settled on the ground, and they realized with a start that the dragon Dylan was riding on wasn’t Grenade— it was Dove. Dylan’s hood was up, obscuring his face, but Danny had lowered his own. As soon as they landed, he pointedly nodded towards Dylan while making eye contact with the other three. _Watch out_ , he mouthed.

He and Dylan slid off Dove and Lion’s backs. “Where’s Grenade?” Jorel asked, picking up another armful of herbs for a healer.

Dylan didn’t respond. George had been focused on holding a cloth down on a dragon’s bleeding wound, but he looked up at Dylan. Something about him seemed off. He had both daggers in his hands, and he turned them over in his grasp as he started towards George. He brushed through the crowd, and people scrambled out of his way. George wondered why, but then he noticed that Dylan’s black cloak was _radiating_ darkness. The sun beamed down on them, but shadows bloomed out of nowhere and clung to the fabric as he walked. He paused in front of George, and he felt a shiver go up his spine. The way Dylan’s shoulders were tensed made George feel like a fight was about to break out.

Dylan reached up and lowered his hood. His hair was tangled as if someone had ruffled it with their hands. There was no trace of his usual smile, and his warm brown eyes had turned cold. His gaze sent a chill up George’s spine.

“Let’s go,” he said. His voice was dead and toneless, like someone had gone into his brain and shut off the part that made him feel emotion.

George found himself staring at Dylan’s cold eyes. “Uh, where are we going?”

“To find the rider.”

George swallowed nervously, which was weird in itself. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been nervous. “We still have people to help.”

“It’s okay,” Asia said. “You all have done plenty already.” She gently pried the sobbing companion off her and stood up. “There isn’t much I can do here, so I can accompany you to wherever you need to go.”

Jordon tied a bandage around the dying dragon’s injury and turned to its companion. “This is the best I can do. He might live, but the chances aren’t great. He’s lost a lot of blood, so just make sure he doesn’t strain himself.”

The crying companion nodded, and Jordon blinked in surprise when they wrapped him in a hug. He looked at Dylan over the companion’s shoulder and took in the sight of his dead eyes and messy hair. He’d never seen Dylan like that, and it scared him a little. What possibly could have happened to make Dylan of all people lose his smile?

Jorel handed a bunch of herbs to another healer, but his gaze was fixed on Dylan. As soon as he saw that Grenade wasn’t there, he put two and two together. Grenade was either dead, dying, or missing, and now Dylan was out for revenge.

The healer George was helping reached over and put her hand on the cloth George was holding down. “You can go,” she said. “We’ll take care of things here.”

Theresa stood up from the crowd, Louie fluttering around her head. “I’ll come, too. An extra healer might be helpful.”

Danny’s face flushed a little when he saw her. He averted his gaze immediately.

George stood up and looked Dylan in the eye, trying to gauge his emotions. The whites of his eyes were a little red, as if he’d been crying, but other than that, he was a total blank slate. He still wouldn’t put away his daggers, and George found himself wondering how he would fare in a fight against Dylan. Dylan was almost as tall, if not the same height as George. He wasn’t quite as muscular either, but with his daggers and thin frame, he’d be a quick opponent. George didn’t think it would come to a fight, but he felt as if he was standing next to a bomb with no idea when it would go off.

George glanced at Asia. “You’re sure we’re okay to leave?”

She shot a concerned look at Dylan. “Yeah. I think so.”

George turned back to Dylan. “Let’s go then.”

All seven companions and their dragons made their way through the crowd towards Monarch and Viral. As soon as everyone was seated on the two dragons, George turned to speak to Asia. “You know this place better than we do. Where do you think the rider might be?”

Asia scratched her stout dragon under the chin as she thought. “I’m not quite sure. However, we may be able to find out. The Graveyard of Broken Parts is inhabited by old ghosts, and they tend to see things that we don’t. They might even have advice on what to do.”

George furrowed his brow. “Is the place safe?”

Asia nodded. “Absolutely. People go there all the time. I’ll direct you.”

George turned back to look at Dylan, who was standing near Monarch’s tail, away from everyone else. Dove nudged his hand, and he put away one of his daggers to pet her on the head. His expression didn’t change.

George turned back to the front. “Let’s go then.”

* * *

Danny and Lion stood on Monarch’s back, facing Dylan. Dylan hadn’t seemed to notice that they were watching him. Throughout the flight, Dylan had been staring into space. Shadowy mist spilled off the shoulders of his cloak. His eyes still looked dead.

Even Dove seemed to notice how upset Dylan was. She kept nudging Dylan’s hand and whimpering to get him to pet her. She jumped up like a dog at one point and licked his face, an obvious attempt to comfort him, but he just gently pushed her back down.

Danny looked up at Lion, whose incredulous expression mirrored his own. Something was very wrong here.

Lion flicked her tail towards Dylan and grunted. _Go talk to him_ , she seemed to be saying.

Danny turned back to Dylan, who had drawn a dagger and was idly spinning it by its chain, seemingly out of boredom. Danny didn’t want to go anywhere near that spinning blade.

However, he took a deep breath and steeled his nerves. He made his way across Monarch’s back and stopped a few metres away from Dylan and his spinning knife. “So,” he began. “You holding up okay?”

Dylan’s grip tightened on the chain of his dagger. “Why do you ask?”

Dove whined and nudged at his free hand. “Because Dove seems to think you need comfort,” Danny pointed out.

Dylan scratched Dove on the head. He didn’t respond.

Danny cast a hesitant glance at Lion, but she just shrugged. Neither of them really knew what to do about humans in distress.

“We’re here!” Asia shouted.

Danny glanced down at the ground as Monarch slowly set down in the sand. Ahead of them, the sand turned to a huge field of grass and packed dirt riddled with small trees. Among the trees were old headstones, mausoleums, and small temples. Dozens of dragons wandered around with their companions, and butterflies fluttered through the air. The whole graveyard had less of a grim atmosphere and more of a chill, almost happy energy. It was the exact opposite of the graveyard they had visited just the day before in the Tragedy Isles.

Everyone turned to look at Monarch and Viral as they landed. “It’s the heroes!” someone shouted. Someone else cheered, and Danny felt his face flush as more people began to scream with delight. He wasn’t used to this much positive attention— or attention in general.

He remembered how happy Dylan had looked when they visited the Town of Wicked Things. Maybe being around a happy crowd would help lighten his mood.

Everyone slid off Monarch and Viral’s backs. Viral puffed out his chest proudly as other companions and dragons surrounded them. Some of them pet his flank or scratched Tiger’s head, and others shook Jordon and Jorel’s hands with smiles on their faces. They both seemed okay with the attention, but Jorel had to push someone away to keep them from hugging him.

Danny let out an involuntary squeak of surprise when people rushed around Monarch. Two people started petting Lion’s metallic fur, and another ran up to Danny and grabbed him by the shoulders.

“We knew you would come here!” they said, smiling wide. “Someone sent a message this way just minutes ago, and we’ve been expecting to see you ever since!”

Danny gave them a polite smile and gently pried their hands off his shoulders. He didn’t know how anyone could enjoy being swamped by so many people, but he hoped it might help Dylan.

Asia and her dragon began to herd some of the people away. “Sorry everyone, but we’re here on business! There’s a dragon rider running around with an army of dragons he’s controlling, and they’re the ones behind the recent dragon attacks. He’s already hurt and killed many others. We’re just here to ask some of the old spirits if they’ve seen where he went.”

Reluctantly, the crowd of people backed off a little to let them through. Theresa and Louie followed Asia and her dragon into the huge graveyard, and after exchanging a hesitant glance with George, Jordon went after them. Monarch stayed where he was, probably not willing to go into the graveyard and accidentally step on gravestones, trees, or people, but plenty of companions and dragons gathered around him. Butterflies fluttered up from the field and settled on his wings.

Danny looked at Dylan to see if he was feeling any better from the positive attention, but his gaze was still cold and dead. He hadn’t stopped spinning his dagger, and everyone made a wide berth around him to avoid the weapon.

Danny jumped when he felt someone tap his shoulder. He whirled around to see Jorel. As usual, Jorel seemed hesitant to talk to Danny, but Tiger leaned forward and nudged his shoulder in greeting.

Jorel nodded towards Dylan. “So, what exactly happened?”

Danny hesitated. “The rider might have killed Grenade,” he answered quietly. “He took off with Grenade’s body. We couldn’t stop him.”

Jorel scratched Tiger’s head. “That’s what I thought. Do you know for sure that Grenade’s dead?”

Danny shook his head. “Not sure. He could be alive, but he definitely didn’t look like it when the rider took him away.”

“As long as Grenade’s alive, Dylan might be fine,” Jorel muttered. “But if the rider kills him...”

“Then Dylan’s fucked,” Danny whispered. He sighed. “I don’t know how to help him.”

Jorel shrugged. “Neither do I. I barely talked to anyone before I came along on this quest or whatever. I don’t know how people work.”

Danny watched as Dylan followed the others into the graveyard, Dove hot on his heels. “You’ve been closest to him since this whole thing started. Maybe he’ll listen to you?”

“Not sure. Jordon’s been friends with him longer. He might be able to help more.”

Lion nudged Danny’s shoulder with her nose and whimpered. She looked at Dylan, then back at Danny. _You’re a dragon tamer_ , she seemed to be saying. _Make it work on humans_.

Danny sighed. “I wish it was that easy.”

She snorted and nudged him again. _Give it a try._

Danny doubted his abilities as a dragon tamer could help him figure out what to do about Dylan, but another pleading look from Lion convinced him. He sighed and pushed through the crowd after Dylan, with Jorel and Lion right behind him.

They stepped on the grass, and the crowd of dragons and companions followed. They parted to let Danny and Jorel through so they could catch up with the rest of their group.

Asia and Theresa turned to look at the five heroes. “We’re going to go talk to the old spirits by ourselves,” Asia said, scratching her dragon on the head. “We think it might be best if you guys stay here.”

Theresa leaned in to whisper to Danny. “These guys will follow you everywhere,” she said. “We won’t be able to get anything done if everyone’s trailing after us.”

Danny felt his face heat up at how close Theresa was, but he managed a nod. She stood back as Louie settled on her shoulder. “We’ll go into one of the temples. You guys can stay out here and entertain your fans.”

Danny shot a hesitant glance at the sheer amount of people and dragons around them. “We’ll try,” he said.

Asia and Theresa started into the graveyard, along with their dragons. Some of the people went back to whatever they were doing before they showed up, but most of them ran up to the five heroes and shook their hands first. Many people were still gathered around Monarch, and George decided to join them so Monarch wouldn’t have to deal with all the people by himself. Butterflies fluttered up from the grass and settled on George’s cloak, but he must not have cared, because he didn’t try to brush them off. Jordon stayed near the edge of the field with Viral, and a ton of women gathered around the two. Jordon smirked as they all started asking him questions about being a hero, and he answered all of them, making jokes in between questions that all the ladies laughed at. Jorel had gotten swept away by the crowd, and while he was hesitant to speak to them, he let them pet Tiger and they seemed satisfied with that. Tiger didn’t seem to mind, either.

Danny felt something tug on his cloak. “Whoa, metallic fabric.”

He whirled around and backed away. The person who had examined his cloak immediately put her hands over her mouth. “Oh, I am so sorry! I didn’t mean to startle you!”

Danny took a deep breath. “It’s okay. I’m just not really used to being around people, that’s all.”

“I’m sorry,” the lady said again. A small dragon with a long body twined around her shoulders, and she scratched it behind its horns. “I just think your cape is cool.” She gestured to Dylan. “Also, I like your friend’s hair, but he... doesn’t really seem safe to talk to right now, so I figured I would wait to tell him.”

Danny leaned past her to look at Dylan. He had stopped spinning his dagger, but he still clenched it in his fist. He used his free hand to pet Dove, but she kept nudging his hand and whimpering. She obviously wanted him to let her help. No one had approached him, due to the darkness drifting off his cloak and settling in the grass, forming a cloud of shadows around him.

Lion nudged Danny’s shoulder. Danny looked at her expectant expression and sighed. “I think I should go talk to him.”

The lady shrugged. “Okay. Just in case I don’t around to it, could you tell him I think he’s cute? My name’s Anna, by the way.”

Danny nodded. “Will do.” He started towards Dylan. “Come on, Lion.”

Lion trotted along behind him as he brushed through the crowd to get to Dylan. A few dragons sniffed at his hands as he passed, and he gave each one a scratch on the head.

He stopped just outside Dylan’s circle of shadows. He wasn’t sure if he should try getting any closer. “Hey, Dylan? You okay?”

“I’m fine,” Dylan snapped. There was an unexpected venom in his voice, and Danny took a step back. Something in Dylan’s eyes had changed. They were less dead, and more... fiery. He’d clenched his jaw and his knuckles were white on the chain of his dagger. Even Danny could see it.

Dylan was _angry_.

Danny bit his lip, a little nervous. He’d never really dealt with anyone who was angry before. Even if he had, it was different with Dylan. Grenade had been taken, likely killed. Dylan was suffering. Danny didn’t know how to help with that.

Danny swallowed. “Do you need—”

Dylan shot him a glare. “I said I’m fucking fine.”

Danny turned to Lion, and she shook her head. There was no use talking to Dylan like this.

But Danny still wanted to try.

He took a step towards Dylan. The shadowy mist around his feet felt cold, but he ignored it and walked up next to Dylan. He stopped and stood there, rocking back and forth on his feet.

“You’re mad,” he pointed out.

Dylan glared at him, and his cold gaze sent a shiver up Danny’s spine. “No shit, Sherlock. Figure that out yourself?”

Danny decided not to ask who or what “Sherlock” was. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Dylan scowled and turned on Danny, his dagger still clutched in his fist. “Jesus fucking Christ, Danny. You don’t get it, so don’t give me that shit, okay? You’re not my damn therapist, so stay the _fuck_ out of my business!”

Danny stepped away, a little surprised at Dylan’s sudden outburst. “Okay,” he muttered. He gestured to Anna. “Well, in other news, that lady says she thinks you’re cute. Her name’s Anna. She likes your hair.”

Dylan heaved an angry sigh. “I literally couldn’t care less right now,” he grumbled. He started towards Monarch and clipped Danny’s shoulder as he passed. The crowd parted for him as shadows trailed after him.

Dove whimpered, and Danny scratched her on the head. “He’s not fine.” He walked after Dylan, Dove and Lion right behind him.

George smiled nervously as a dozen people asked him tons of questions at once. He wasn’t really sure what anyone was saying, but he’d been trying his best to answer their questions while the others dealt with their own crowds of admirers. Most of them seemed interested in George and Monarch, and he could see why. He was a legendary hero, and Monarch was a Great Dragon. Many of the people (and dragons, Monarch told him) were asking about the legends of the human colonization from a thousand years ago, but some of them were asking how the hero stuff worked. It was difficult to keep up with all the questions.

He was in the middle of telling someone about how he and Monarch went into hibernation so they could wait for the next heroes, but the crowd separated and Dylan appeared. George’s sentence faltered when he noticed how mad Dylan looked. What had happened?

Dylan walked up to Monarch and leaned against him with his arms crossed. The entire crowd, including George, had gone silent and was staring at him. He glanced at all of them and furrowed his brow. “What?” he barked.

Everyone avoided his gaze. George cleared his throat. He tried to continue with his story, but shadows clouded on the ground and gathered around his feet. Some of the butterflies on his cloak flew away, scared off by the darkness.

George hadn’t realized he was still staring at Dylan until Dylan shot him a glare. “What? You think I’m gonna attack you or something? News flash, Ragan, I don’t kill people when I’m mad like you do.”

George tensed at his words. “I don’t attack people, Dylan. Not on purpose. It’s a Great Dragon thing, and it’s a last self-defence.”

Dylan scoffed. “Yeah. Really seemed like you were ‘defending’ yourself when you ran over Danny in the Swan’s Nest. And were you also ‘defending’ yourself when you killed millions of people in your Keep?”

George took a deep breath. Dylan was mad and looking to start a fight, and George didn’t want that. Partially because he didn’t want to cause a scene in front of all these people, but also because he wasn’t actually sure if he’d be able to hold his own in a fight against Dylan. Dylan’s eyes had gone from cold and dead to fiery with rage. Dylan wanted something to take his frustration out on, and George didn’t want to be that for him.

“I know you’re bitter, Dylan,” George said, “and you’re worried we might not find the rider, but you can’t take it out on me.”

“How is it any worse than you taking your anger out on the rider back in the Swan’s Nest? At least I’m not trying to kill you.”

George turned to face Dylan. “Dylan, stop this,” he said firmly. “I’m serious. Trying to fight me isn’t going to end well for either of us, so—”

Dylan narrowed his eyes. “What, are you gonna kill me? You scared I’ll beat you instead? What is it, Ragan?”

Danny broke through the crowd. “Hey, guys! Uh, Dylan, I think George is answering some really important questions right now, so maybe we should—”

“Don’t pull that shit, Danny,” Dylan growled. “I’m not some dragon you can train. Don’t order me around.”

Danny glanced back at the crowd and seemed to realize that everyone was staring at the three of them. “Sorry!” he said. “We’re having some issues. Any questions you guys want answered can be taken to Jordon over there.” He pointed to Jordon and Viral. “We’ll be right with you!”

Companions exchanged worried glances with their dragons, but they all dispersed. Some of them went over to Jordon, who was still flirting with a bunch of ladies, while others wandered over to Jorel and Tiger.

As soon as the crowd was gone, Danny whirled around to look at Dylan. “Dylan, I know you’re upset, but infighting isn’t going to help us get Grenade back. It won’t help us find the rider. If you need to take your frustration out on something, go punch a tree. But don’t you _dare_ try to use George’s past mistakes against him.”

Dylan’s face twisted into a scowl, and the feeling of standing next to a lit bomb returned. George took a step back.

“Shut the fuck up,” Dylan growled. “You don’t know shit about how it feels to lose a dragon. Grenade is probably dead, and you don’t seem to give a shit!”

Danny’s eyebrows shot up, and George backed into Monarch, afraid that a fight would break out between the two. “Seriously?” Danny said. “I may not know how it feels to lose a dragon, but I know how it feels to lose stuff I care about.” He stepped towards Dylan. “I live in the burned up remains of my own fucking town. Everyone I loved _died_. Don’t tell me I don’t know how loss feels.”

George watched as Dylan tried to stare Danny down. George saw the fire in Dylan’s eyes and knew that if he was in Danny’s place, he would have backed down immediately. However, Danny clenched his jaw and glared right back.

“Guys!” Asia and Theresa pushed through the crowd, both of them riding on the back of Asia’s dragon. “We figured out where your dragon rider went!” Asia said.

George automatically put a hand on the hilt of his sword. “Where is he?”

“The Smoky Sands!” Theresa exclaimed. “We have no idea why he would go there of all places! Thousands of people have died in there! It’s too dangerous!”

Jordon popped out of the crowd. “Well, we’ve survived worse!” He turned back to Viral. “Get ready, bud! We’re gonna catch us our fuckin’ dragon rider!”


	29. Up In Smoke

Dylan swung his legs off Monarch’s side as they flew through the air. He hadn’t sheathed his dagger. He hated that Danny felt the need to be such a mom. Dylan’s problems weren’t Danny’s business. He was perfectly fine on his own.

Dove whined and rested her head on Dylan’s shoulder. Dylan loosened his grip on his dagger as his anger ebbed a little. He couldn’t be too mad when Dove was trying so hard to comfort him.

But thoughts of Grenade and the rider wouldn’t leave him alone. Why did the rider have to take Grenade? Why did he have to take Dylan’s best friend away?

He felt the rage building in his gut again. The rider would pay for this.

He tapped his finger on the blade of his dagger. Couldn’t Monarch fly any faster? It felt like they’d been flying for _ages_.

“You okay, Dylan?”

A wave of irritation washed over him at the sound of Danny’s voice. He scowled and didn’t answer.

“I’m just gonna take that as a no,” Danny mumbled. “If you need anything—”

“I don’t need anything!” Dylan burst. He glared up at Danny. “Just shut the fuck up already!”

Danny skittered away, his eyes wide. “Dylan, you’re not okay,” he whispered.

Dylan stood up. “I’m fucking fine. Leave me alone.”

Lion huffed, her eyes narrowed at Dylan. She took a step in front of Danny, as if preparing herself to protect him from something.

Danny gently pushed her away. He looked Dylan up and down before stepping back. “Sorry. I just... thought I’d check in.” He looked down at the ground. “I think we’re there, by the way.”

Dylan followed his gaze. The sand stretched out below them, but a large circle of smoke circled on the ground, obscuring their view of the dunes. Unlike in the Town of Wicked Things and the Graveyard of Broken Parts, there didn’t seem to be another person or dragon in sight.

Monarch and Viral lowered themselves in the sand, and Dylan hopped off Monarch’s back as soon as the dragon was steady. Dove squeaked and followed him.

George slid off Monarch’s back and turned around to help Asia down after him. “So, what’s so dangerous about this place?”

Theresa, Jordon, and Jorel jumped off Viral’s back. “You can’t see in there,” Theresa explained. “And once you go in, your emotions get all out of whack.”

“It definitely fucks with your feelings,” Asia agreed, holding onto George’s hands to steady herself as she landed on the sand. “It enhances whatever your strongest emotion is at the time. Angry people usually end up killing their friends in a fit of rage, sad people die of dehydration from crying too much— the list goes on.”

Jordon tensed and put a hand on the hilt of one of his guns. “That... definitely doesn’t sound safe.”

George exchanged a hesitant glance with him. “Asia, Theresa, you two aren’t coming in, right?”

Asia shook her head vigorously. “Oh, hell no. Theresa went in once, and from what I’ve heard—” She held up her hands. “I’m not going in that hellscape.”

Dylan started towards the cloud of smoke. “Well, the rider’s in there, so we have to go find him.”

Someone pulled him to a stop by the end of his cloak and he whirled around, anger flaring up in his gut. Danny let go of his cape and backed away. “Dude, we can’t just rush in without a plan. Be patient.”

A knot of rage formed in Dylan’s gut. He took a step towards Danny and pointed at the cloud of smoke with his dagger. “How can I be patient when that _fucker_ probably killed—?” He stopped as tears of anger welled up in his eyes. He clenched his teeth and harshly wiped at his eyes. “Fuck! Fuck this!”

Danny bit his lip. “Maybe you should stay out here.”

Dylan shook his head. “No, I’m going in there. I’m gonna find the rider.”

George rested a hand on the pommel of his sword. “I’d suggest we try to stick together, but that didn’t work out so well in the Valley of the Shadow of Death. Maybe we should split up. We can cover more ground that way.”

“I’ll go with Dylan,” Danny suggested.

Dylan wanted to protest, but George nodded. “Okay. I’ll go with Jordon. Jorel?”

Jorel and Tiger looked at each other, then at Dylan. “We’ll go with you,” he said to George.

For some reason, Jordon took his guns out of his belt and shoved them into his bag. He handed the bag to George, who slung it over his shoulder. “Just in case,” Jordon said.

Dylan impatiently spun one of his daggers on its chain. “Can we go now?”

Danny walked up to Dylan, Lion trotting alongside him. “We have to stick together.” He held out a hand.

Dylan scowled, but he placed his free hand in Danny’s. Lion walked up to Dove, and the two of them twined their tails together. Lion took the end of Danny’s cloak in her mouth.

They walked up to the cloud of smoke, hand in hand. Monarch’s footsteps pounded behind them, but Dylan ignored them. Finding the rider and killing him was all that mattered.

They walked into the cloud, and the smoke closed around them. The thought crossed his mind that they might asphyxiate in here, but he found that he could breathe perfectly fine. He could barely see two feet in front of him, but he ignored that fact. He just pulled Danny along through the smoke.

“Slow down,” Danny’s voice said. “I can’t walk as fast as you.”

“Then get longer legs,” Dylan grumbled. He wanted to find the rider as quick as possible. If Grenade was still alive, they had to get him back. If not—

Dylan shook the thought out of his head. Grenade had to be alive, right? The rider wouldn’t just let him die, would he?

He felt Danny’s grip tighten. “Dude, it’s scary in here,” he whispered.

Dylan rolled his eyes. “It’s not that bad. Stop being a pussy.”

“I can’t help it,” Danny said. “I don’t like the dark.”

Dylan turned to look at Danny, forgetting that he couldn’t see him through the smoke. “It’s not that dark.”

“It is around you,” Danny argued. “Have you not noticed that you’re literally radiating darkness?”

Dylan didn’t care. “You’ve got a lantern. Use it.”

Danny didn’t respond. Despite the fact that Dylan was surrounded by a cloud of shadows, he felt Danny shuffle closer to him as they walked. Danny’s arm snaked around Dylan’s, and he clutched Dylan’s sleeve with his free hand.

Dylan sighed. Of course Danny’s strongest emotion had to be fear. This was going to get annoying.

Dylan stumbled over a small mound of sand, and Danny yelped. “What is it? What happened?”

“I just tripped,” Dylan grumbled. “Shut up.” He tried to stay angry, but the concern in Danny’s voice was a little worrying. If people could come in here and accidentally kill their friends or cry themselves to death, what would that kind of magic do to Danny and his fear?

Dylan and Danny trudged on. Dylan glanced behind him to check if Dove and Lion were still behind them, and he spotted their faint silhouettes among the smoke. Seeing Dove without Grenade next to her sent a jolt of sadness through Dylan. Grenade should have been there with him. They’d been together for years, and now he was most likely dead.

The thought made Dylan’s breath hitch with a sudden sob. He stopped spinning his dagger and put his hand to his mouth to stop it. He couldn’t lose his shit in here. Not when he had a terrified Danny clinging to his arm. He had no idea where the rider might be, but he hoped he was close. That way, they could get rid of the rider and leave before Danny had a full-blown panic attack.

He heard Lion squeak behind him and whirled around. Lion’s faint shape in the smoke scampered across the sand, her gaze fixed on something in the distance. Great. So she was just as skittish as her companion.

Dylan kept walking, and Danny and the dragons followed. He would have to take the lead if everyone else was going to be all jumpy. If Grenade was there, he could probably help Dove and Lion feel safer. It would be a lot easier if he still had Grenade, but Grenade was gone. The rider either killed him in the No-Way-Out Caves or soon after. Grenade was probably already dead.

Dylan choked out a sob. Grenade had always been such a happy, fun-loving dragon. He hadn’t deserved to die.

Danny’s voice broke through his thoughts. “Dilly? You okay?”

The unexpected nickname pulled a laugh from Dylan’s throat. “Dilly?”

Danny shrugged. “I like nicknames. You think George will let me call him Georgie?”

Dylan chuckled, his sadness briefly forgotten. “You’d have to ask him.”

They fell silent once again, and Dylan found his thoughts turning back to Grenade. Would Grenade have wanted a nickname? Dylan never gave him one. There were a lot of things Dylan had never done with Grenade that they would never get to do now.

Dylan sniffled, and Danny seemed to notice. “Dylan?” he said softly. “Seriously, you’re not okay. You keep saying you’re fine, but you’re mad, and you seemed almost dead inside for a while there, and you had a panic attack back in the caves— you’re clearly upset, but you’re denying it. You can let yourself be sad.”

Dylan wiped at a few tears that welled up in his eyes. “Shut up,” he mumbled in a last ditch attempt at anger. “I don’t want to be sad. I want to find the rider and kill him for killing my best friend.” The thought of the dragon rider taking off with Grenade did send a jolt of rage through him, which he was thankful for. It gave him something else to focus on.

“We don’t _know_ Grenade’s dead—”

“I’m still going to kill the rider,” Dylan snapped. Anger flared up in his gut at the thought of the dragon rider carrying Grenade away.

Danny didn’t respond. They kept walking.

Dylan drew his dagger in his free hand again and spun it on its chain. It helped keep his thoughts away from Grenade and the rider. The thought crossed his mind that he shouldn’t make a habit of whirling a dangerous weapon around, but he ignored it.

A wave of sadness crashed over him suddenly, wrenching tears from his eyes. What was wrong with him? Why was he crying so much?

“Because Grenade’s gone,” Danny whispered.

Dylan blinked, realizing that he’d asked the question out loud. “That’s— that’s not—” Dylan muttered, trying to protest. He was fine! He didn’t need to cry, he didn’t need Danny’s help, he didn’t need anything!

Dylan stopped in his tracks when he heard something in the smoke. Dragon paws pounded rapidly against the sand, getting louder and louder as they grew closer. In a panic, Dylan turned to face the footsteps and pulled Danny behind him. He raised a dagger just as a dragon lunged at them from the darkness.

Danny yelped and huddled behind Dylan. The dragon had closed its teeth on the chain of his dagger, and Dylan yanked on the weapon. The dragon flew across the sand, briefly disappearing in the smoke again.

Danny peeked over Dylan’s shoulder. “What was that?”

Dylan listened as the dragon scrambled in the sand. He let go of Danny’s hand to draw his other dagger, but Danny still clutched the back of his cape like it was a lifeline. He heard Lion whimper in the smoke as the dragon’s footsteps pattered across the sand. The sound of an animal snuffling met their ears.

Danny grabbed Dylan’s wrist and pulled him away from the dragon. “Come on, we have to run!”

“We can fight it!” Dylan protested as the dragon’s footsteps approached.

“No, we can’t!”

Dylan caught a brief glimpse of Danny through the smoke as he pushed Dylan aside. He heard the quiet twang of Danny’s crossbow string, and the dragon squeaked. Dylan had no idea how Danny had managed to hit it when they couldn’t even see it, but the thought was ripped from his head when Danny grabbed Dylan’s wrist again and pulled him in the opposite direction. Lion and Dove ran alongside them.

Dylan tried to pull his arm away. “Why can’t we fight it?” he demanded. This was an opportunity for him to get revenge on the dragon rider for killing Grenade!

“Because those things can kill us!” Danny shot back. “Remember what almost happened to Monarch in the Tragedy Isles?”

Dylan wanted to argue, but Danny had a point. He clenched his teeth in frustration and let Danny drag him through the smoke.

Dove sidled up next to Dylan and licked at his hand as they ran. Her concern reminded him of Grenade and how he would always whine and nudge Dylan’s hand when he was worried about him, and the thought of Grenade caused another wave of despair to wash over him. He stumbled and almost fell face-first in the sand.

Danny tightened his grip on Dylan’s arm. “You can’t fight like this, anyway!” he pointed out. “You’re on the verge of tears, man!”

Dylan shook his head, trying to deny it. He was fine!

Danny yelped and skidded to a stop as a dragon lunged out of the darkness and sailed over their heads. Danny let go of Dylan and clutched his crossbow in both hands as the dragon whirled around to face them. It bared its teeth and snarled. Before Dylan could do anything, two arrows shot from Danny’s bow and thudded into the dragon’s neck. It screeched and pawed at its scales, trying to dislodge the bolts. Danny grabbed Dylan’s wrist and kept running.

Dylan wiped at the tears in his eyes. Memories of Grenade swarmed his thoughts with every step, and try as he might, he couldn’t make them leave him alone. He tried one last time to cling to any trace of the anger he’d felt before, but that had dissipated and left sorrow in its wake.

He was minutely aware of Danny shooting at something in the smoke, but the majority of his thoughts were occupied by Grenade. What would the dragons at home think when Dylan came back with a new dragon and no Grenade? Who would Dylan rob nobles’ houses with? Could Dylan even still be considered a dragon companion if he didn’t have a dragon? Sure, he had Dove, but he wasn’t as close with her as he had been with Grenade. Maybe with time, he could be Dove’s companion, but he didn’t even know if he wanted to be a dragon keeper anymore if he couldn’t do it with Grenade. Grenade had been with him through everything, and now he was just... gone.

Dylan hadn’t realized he’d stopped running until his wrist slipped out of Danny’s hand. Danny turned around to look at Dylan. “What’s wrong? We have to keep moving!”

Dylan sniffled as tears spilled from his eyes. He put a hand over his mouth in a pointless attempt to stifle his crying. He didn’t reply. He couldn’t speak very well through his tears.

“Dilly?” Danny’s quiet voice said. Dylan heard his soft footsteps in the sand, and then Danny’s concerned face emerged from the smoke in front of him. He had lit his lantern, the light casting a golden glow over him. The light ricocheted off his metallic cloak, cutting through the smoke and creating a halo of light around him. Lion trotted up next to him. She blew a stream of glowing mist on the ground, where it mingled with the dark clouds radiating from Dylan’s cloak. Dove squeaked and nudged Dylan’s hand, standing at his side in the middle of the darkness.

Danny took a step towards Dylan. His light warded off some of the shadows as he got closer. “Dylan? Maybe we should take a break.”

Dylan shook his head. “No, I— I have to...” His voice trailed off as another sob wracked his body. He didn’t know why he was crying so much. Just a few minutes ago, he’d been boiling with rage, and now here he was, sobbing like a baby. He’d rather be angry than sad. He’d even prefer being that dead inside shell of himself that he’d been when they left the Caves. At least then he wasn’t feeling so...

A short sigh left Danny’s lips. “Dylan, you’re grieving.”

Dylan wiped at his tears. Grief stricken. That was the term he was looking for.

He was minutely aware of Danny’s arms around him as he sank to the ground. Dylan automatically hugged him back. Danny’s lantern brushed the shadows aside, surrounding Dylan in a circle of warm light. Tears spilled down his face as Danny reached up and ran a hand through Dylan’s hair.

“Grenade might still be alive,” Danny said softly. “If he is, we’ll find him.”

“What if he’s not?” Dylan choked through his tears. He was almost one hundred percent certain that the rider had killed Grenade back in the caves, and he didn’t want Danny to try giving him false hope.

Danny was silent for a moment. “Then we’ll help you through it,” he said finally. “I don’t know if it’s just this place that’s making all of this hit you right now, but you clearly need to let yourself be sad. Stop focusing on the dragon rider, and stop trying to be mad.” He rested his chin on Dylan’s head as he stroked Dylan’s curls with his fingers. “You can cry.”

Danny’s words struck a chord in Dylan. His grief welled up inside him, and he buried his face in Danny’s shoulder just as the dam broke. Tears flooded from his eyes and cries ripped from his throat as he sobbed in Danny’s arms.

He didn’t know how long he cried. It could have a minute or an hour. He was numb to the passage of time. All he was aware of was his own despair and the feeling of Danny’s arms around him. His chest heaved with sobs as his grief overwhelmed him. He clutched Danny tighter, his never-ending stream of tears soaking through the metallic golden cloak.

After a while, his heavy cries faded into hiccups and sniffles. His throat felt dry and raw, as if worn down by his anguished sobs. Danny’s hand gently worked through Dylan’s tangled curls, and Dylan focused on the feeling, trying to calm himself down.

He took a deep, shaky breath. His breath hitched as he choked out one last sob, and a second deep breath helped bring him back to reality. He gently lifted his head from Danny’s shoulder and wiped at his eyes. Through the haze of tears, he could see that Lion and Dove had lied down together next to their two companions. Lion rested her head on Dove’s back with her eyes closed, and while Dylan couldn’t see Dove’s eyes through her bandages, he assumed she was asleep too. Danny’s lantern sat next to them, surrounding them all in a circle of light.

Danny shifted so one of his arms was free and reached into his bag. His crossbow had been discarded on the ground, and he ignored it as he pulled a canteen form his bag. He held it out to Dylan. “You’re probably dehydrated,” he said quietly.

Dylan took the canteen. He tried to say thanks, but all that came out was a hiccupped sob. Instead, he tipped the canteen back and took a long drink. He handed it back to Danny when he was done.

Danny’s one hand hadn’t stopped messing with Dylan’s hair. He put the canteen back in his bag and looked up at Dylan. “You feeling any better?”

Dylan sniffled and nodded. He did feel a little better. He was still distraught about Grenade, but he didn’t feel quite as anguished about it. If Grenade was alive, they’d find him. If not... well, he’d work through it.

Danny untangled his fingers from Dylan’s hair and stood up, helping Dylan to his feet along with him. “I think we’ve been in here long enough,” Danny said.

Dylan wiped the tears from his eyes. “We still have to find the rider,” he choked out. His voice was still thick with emotion.

Danny shook his head and brushed Dylan’s messy hair away from his face. “There’s not much you can do like this. Besides, there’ll be plenty more opportunities to get him. If the rider hasn’t killed Grenade yet, I’m pretty sure he won’t do it any time soon.” He bent down and grabbed his crossbow, slinging it across his back where it was supposed to be.

Dylan took another deep breath and nodded. He didn’t want to spend any more time in this place.

Dove whined. She pushed herself to her feet, shoving Lion off of her in the process. Lion grunted in displeasure, but she stood up and stretched, letting out a long yawn. Danny’s lantern warded off the smoke, and Lion took it in her mouth and started across the sand. Dove squeaked and bounded after her.

Danny wrapped an arm around Dylan’s shoulder as they followed their dragons. Dylan felt a little guilty. Danny obviously felt obligated to comfort Dylan, despite the amount of times he’d told Dylan to stop touching him. “You don’t have to do this,” Dylan said with a sniffle.

In response, Danny just squeezed Dylan’s shoulders. “It’s okay,” he said. “I don’t mind.”

He kept his arm around Dylan as they walked through the smoke. Dylan relaxed a little and wrapped his arm around Danny. They were quiet while they walked, and for once, Dylan was okay with the silence.

It didn’t take too long before they emerged from the smoke. Monarch’s monstrous form towered over them, even though he was lying down in the sand. In the crook between his arm and chest, Jordon sat on the ground with arms wrapped around his legs. He buried his face in his sleeves, and his shoulders shook as if he was sobbing. George’s arm rested around his shoulders. Viral lied down with his head draped over Monarch’s arm to look at his companion. Jorel stood far away from them with a hand on one of the throwing axes at his belt, and Tiger licked at his face as his whole body trembled. Asia and Theresa stood to the side, staring at the three heroes with concern in their eyes. They both looked up as Danny and Dylan approached.

Neither of them moved. “Are you okay?” Asia asked hesitantly.

Dylan nodded. “We’re good.” He gestured to the other three. “What about them?”

Jorel’s eyes widened at the sight of them and he took a step back. He seemed terrified of something, but Dylan didn’t know what.

Danny furrowed his brow in confusion. Theresa seemed to notice, because she sighed and walked up to Danny. “He’s paranoid,” she said quietly. “Not sure if George is okay, but Jordon definitely isn’t.”

Viral whined and gently nudged his companion with his nose. Jordon hugged his knees tighter, and a muffled cry met Dylan’s ears.

“So no one found the rider?” Danny asked.

Asia pointed to George. “Not quite. They had a short run in, apparently, but the rider escaped. He dropped something, though. That’s all George told me.”

Danny and Dylan exchanged a glance. “We’ll go ask him,” Dylan said.

The pair trudged across the sand, their dragons in tow. Although Monarch’s throat rumbled in a defensive growl, he let them approach.

They walked up to George and Jordon. George looked up. His blue eyes were stone cold, and the two of them faltered for a moment at his glare. Dylan silently prayed that George’s eyes wouldn’t start glowing like they had in the Swan’s Nest.

His gaze flickered back and forth between Danny and Dylan. “What do you want?” he growled. Monarch snarled along with him. George’s arm tightened around Jordon’s shoulder almost protectively. His left hand still rested on the pommel of his sword.

Danny took a step forward and knelt down to their level. George clenched the handle of his sword, and Danny held up his hands to show him that he was unarmed. “Hey man. It’s okay, I’m not gonna hurt you.”

George glanced at Jordon, and Danny shook his head. “I’m not gonna hurt him, either. It’s okay. I just want to ask what happened with the dragon rider.”

George hesitated. His grip loosened on his sword after a moment, but his gaze was still cold as ice. “We found him. He escaped, but he dropped something.”

“What was it?” Danny asked.

George kept his eyes on Danny and Dylan as he dug around in his cloak. From the folds in the fabric, he produced a tiny cloth bag. He tossed it towards Danny. He fumbled with it and it fell to the sand.

Dylan bent down and picked it up. The bag was small enough to fit in his palm, and the fabric was soft. It was closed with a drawstring. He pulled it open to peer inside.

Danny stood and looked over his shoulder. Dylan reached in and pulled out a sharp twig covered in jet black bark. It was cold to the touch. He handed it to Danny and reached in again.

A small piece of volcanic rock rolled into his palm. Heat radiated from the cracks in the reddish stone. Danny took it from his hand as Dylan reached into the bag one last time.

The last thing in the bag was a small, sparkling crystal. It looked as if it had been chipped out of a geode. The shiny surface seemed to absorb all the light around it. Something about it felt familiar, but he couldn’t place what.

Danny took the small crystal and placed it in his palm with the other two things. The twig radiated darkness. As they watched, a small red stripe appeared in the bark before quickly fading away. The cracks in the volcanic rock glowed orange as the rest of the rock turned black, and a small wave of smoke rolled off its surface. The shiny chipped crystal sparkled in the sunlight. A cloud of shadowy mist swirled around it.

“What are these?” Danny whispered.

Dylan squinted at the sparkly crystal. He wondered where it had come from, and then it hit him.

He took it from Danny’s palm. “He got this from the No-Way-Out Caves.”

Danny examined the crystal for a moment. “Looks like it.” He turned back to the other two things. “Then what are these from?”

“Bullet’s Edge.”

They both turned to look at Jordon. His voice was quiet since his face was still hidden in his arms, but he raised his head just enough to look at Danny and Dylan. His eyes were red and tears streamed down his cheeks, but he wiped at them and sniffled. “The rock is from Bullet’s Edge.”

He choked out a sob and lowered his head again. George glared at Danny and Dylan, as if Jordon’s sorrow was somehow their fault. A quiet growl escaped his lips, and Monarch echoed the sound.

Danny held the dark twig between his fingers. “I think this might be from the Grove of Loss,” he muttered.

“Why was the rider carrying these around?” Dylan wondered aloud.

Theresa leaned over Danny’s shoulder to examine the objects, and Dylan saw his face flush red. “He got these from other places in Angeles?” she whispered. “Cool. What are they for?”

Dylan furrowed his brow in confusion. “Not sure. We should hold onto them for now, though. They might give us a clue as to what the rider is doing.”

Danny nodded. “I think we should go to the nearest town, just to collect our thoughts.” He turned to Theresa. “Do... do you know where we might be able to rest?” He stumbled over his words, but he managed to get out a full sentence without too much trouble.

Theresa nodded. “Light Sky City is close to here. Just a heads up, once they see you, they’re going to want to celebrate, whether you’re in the mood for it or not.”

The possibility of a celebration lifted Dylan’s spirits a little. “I think we can handle a party.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> unfortunately, the chaotic Christmas story i'm writing probably won't be on time for Christmas since i've been swamped with homework and late work shifts lately. however, i do have some prewritten chapters for Legends, so i might be able to post an extra chapter each week for the next couple weeks. no promises, though, since i still have to write the rest of the Christmas story (that was going to be a one-shot but has turned into at least a three chapter fic).   
> anyway, if i don't get around to posting anything before Christmas, then merry Christmas and happy holidays!!!


	30. One More Bottle

Theresa had been right— the people of Light Sky City loved to party.

The five heroes took an hour to let everyone calm down after leaving the Smoky Sands. Dylan felt a little better, having cried out his grief, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t still upset over Grenade. He was ninety percent sure that his dragon was dead, but his talk with Danny had planted a small seed of hope inside him. If Grenade hadn’t died in the Caves, he was probably still alive.

He found himself tearing up a couple times over the next hour, but he tried to keep himself from crying too much. He didn’t need to cry anymore. He was fine. He shouldn’t have even let himself go in the Smoky Sands. He felt almost ashamed, having exposed that much emotion to Danny.

Jordon’s crying slowly lessened over the hour. George kept his arm around Jordon’s shoulders, but he didn’t immediately go on the defensive when someone approached. He let Asia and her dragon sit down next to him, and the two spoke in hushed voices. Dylan assumed they were discussing what to do about the dragon rider.

Jorel had stopped shaking after a few minutes, and while he still jumped at any little noise, he’d taken his hand off the axe on his belt and instead scratched Tiger behind the horns. Dylan remembered that Jorel felt better having at least one person he could trust around him at all times, so he sat on the sand next to Jorel for most of the hour. Jorel slowly calmed down and leaned against Dylan’s shoulder, and they remained that way until Jordon and George were ready to leave.

Jordon clung to George like he was a teddy bear, so he went on Monarch when they decided to go. He hugged Viral before he hopped onto Monarch’s back, even though his arms wouldn’t even fit around his dragon’s neck. Danny went with them, as did Asia and Theresa. Dylan decided to ride on Viral with Jorel. The sky was beginning to turn orange just as they left.

They were _swamped_ in a crowd as soon as they landed in Light Sky City.

People saw Monarch from below, and a loud cheer echoed through the air as everyone gathered at the edge of the city. Monarch’s huge paws sent a cloud of sand wafting up from the ground when he landed.

Asia hopped off Monarch’s back first, trying to tell the crowd that the heroes had only just left the Smoky Sands, but that just made the crowd cheer harder. They seemed impressed that the five of them hadn’t died during their adventure.

Danny hesitated before he slid off Monarch’s back, and Lion followed closely behind him. This was a pretty ecstatic crowd. He could easily see himself getting overwhelmed with the sheer amount of people in the city.

However, there were quite a few dragons as well, which was a relief. He might not have been able to read humans’ emotions, but dragons were easy. Most dragons and companions reflected each other’s emotions, so maybe he could get a grasp on the people in the crowd through their dragons.

George and Jordon hopped off Monarch’s back together. People and dragons swarmed them like moths to a flame. Some of the people shook George’s hand, and dragons nuzzled against Jordon, chirping happily. Jordon lessened his grip on George’s arm and scratched the dragons on their heads.

Jorel stuck close to Dylan as the two of them slid off Viral. Danny quickly made his way over to the pair before he could be swarmed by the crowd. He stayed next to Dylan as the people crowded around them.

“We’re so glad you came!” someone said. They took Danny’s hand and shook it vigorously.

Danny smiled politely and took his hand away. “We’re glad to be here.”

A loud _pop_ echoed through the air as someone uncorked a bottle of wine. Companions and dragons cheered and squawked as the person who opened the bottle started pouring glasses.

Dylan hunched his shoulders. His cloak had stopped radiating darkness after they left the Smoky Sands, but he definitely didn’t seem to be feeling better.

“I think I’m having second thoughts about this,” he whispered to Danny and Jorel.

Jorel and Danny exchanged a concerned glance. “I’ll keep them busy,” Jorel mouthed. “You get him away.”

Danny nodded. He took Dylan’s hand and led him away from the crowd. “We can find a place to rest if you want,” he offered.

Dylan glanced at the crowd and nodded. Danny nudged a few companions aside and ducked between two buildings, pulling Dylan after him. The sun was slowly setting, casting shadows across the alley he’d chosen as their hiding place. Dylan’s cloak helped him blend into the dark, but Danny’s sent beams of light bouncing through the air and would probably call attention to them. He unclasped it and shoved it in his bag before anyone could notice.

Dylan tensed and looked back at the crowd. “Where’s Dove?”

Danny placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “She’s visiting with the other dragons. These people are companions. They’re not going to hurt her.”

Dylan fiddled with the hem of his cloak, his gaze still fixed on the crowd. “But she...”

Then Danny realized why Dylan was worried about her. He’d lost Grenade, and now Dove was the only dragon he had. He couldn’t lose her, too.

“I’ll go find her,” Danny said. He gave Dylan’s shoulder a squeeze. “I’ll be right back.”

Danny disappeared back into the crowd. Dylan clutched his cloak around his shoulders and tapped his foot on the ground. He knew that Dove was fine, but the part of his brain that was fixating on Grenade kept telling him to not let her out of his sight. He hadn’t known Dove for very long, but losing her would just crush him more.

A familiar chirp of a dragon met his ears, and he looked up from the ground to see Danny standing in the alley with Dove and Lion at his side. Dove trotted up to Dylan and licked at his hand.

Danny put an arm around Dylan’s shoulders. “Let’s go find you a place to rest.”

* * *

Danny waited outside the bathroom as Dylan washed up. They’d found an inn in the city where they could rest for a bit, and luckily, the owner let them use one of the bathrooms in a room without having to pay for anything. Danny had quickly bathed in another room, and he felt much better now that he was clean. He fiddled with the bullet casing that served as the clasp of his cloak as he waited for Dylan.

Danny leaned back against the wall and sighed. Lion and Dove were lying on the floor, Dove’s head resting on Lion’s back. The hallways and doors were pretty big, probably made to accommodate as many dragon species as they could. Dragons that were Viral’s size couldn’t fit, but the innkeeper told him that the walls could swing open to allow larger dragons to poke their heads in.

“Is Dove still out there?” Dylan’s voice asked from inside the bathroom.

“Yep.” Dylan had been asking Danny that question almost every five minutes, and Danny understood why. Dylan didn’t want anything bad to happen to Dove.

Finally, Danny heard the sound of the bathtub draining. He waited a few minutes, and then the door swung open. Dylan walked out into the hall. He’d tied his hair back with a ribbon to keep it out of his face. He looked a bit calmer than he had when they first landed, but his usual smile hadn’t returned yet.

Dylan bent down and scratched Dove on the head. “Nothing happened?”

Danny shook his head. “Nope. We’re all good.” He gently nudged Dylan with his elbow. “So, what do you wanna do now?”

Dylan glanced out the window of the room they were in. The sun was lowering itself over the city, and the darkness of the night slowly swallowed each and every building. Lanterns lit up throughout the streets, casting a false daylight over the crowds. Music was playing from somewhere, and people danced in the streets with their dragons, beer and whiskey sloshing onto the ground from their pints and bottles. It was the most festive crowd Dylan had seen in years.

He took a deep breath. “I think I wanna party.”

* * *

Jordon uncorked a bottle of whiskey. “I’m gonna drink you into the ground, Ragan.”

The crowd around them cheered as George raised his own bottle. “You’re gonna eat those words, Terrell.”

Asia leaned forward, her hands on the table. She’d led the two of them to a tavern with an open roof so Viral and Monarch could poke their heads in to check on their companions whenever they wanted. She told them they deserved a break after chasing the dragon rider for a full week, and the two of them had agreed wholeheartedly.

Asia grinned. “Ready?”

Both heroes nodded. “Go!” Asia shouted.

George and Jordon immediately began chugging their bottles. Companions around them yelled in excitement and drank from their own pints and bottles. Asia took a swig from a wine bottle in her hands and watched the two of them drain their whiskey. Another lady, who had earlier introduced herself as Randi, stood next to Asia, her gaze fixed on Jordon with a flirty smile. Asia silently held out the bottle of wine and Randi took a sip. She didn’t take her eyes off Jordon as she handed the bottle back.

Jorel rolled his eyes at the group. He’d snitched his own bottle of whiskey from the bar, but he hadn’t drunk much. He turned and left the tavern, Tiger curled around his shoulders.

Outside, people danced in the streets to a song being played by a band in the town square. It was difficult to hear the music over the excited squawks of dragons, but it was catchy. He tapped his foot along to the beat and took a sip from his bottle.

Tiger whimpered and pointed her nose towards the town square. She seemed to want to get closer to the band.

He turned and started through the crowd. He took another swig of whiskey, but his bottle was knocked out of his hands when someone took his wrist an pulled him into the dancing crowd. He yelped in surprise as a lady spun him around. The left half of her hair was black, and the other half was bleached blond. She smiled and laughed as she took his hands and whirled him in a circle.

A smile cracked across Jorel’s face. The little bit of alcohol he drank flooded his mind, pulling a laugh from his lips. He twirled the lady under his arm. She almost spun out of the crowd, but she took his hand again to steady herself. She giggled and led him through the crowd towards the centre of the town square. The crowd parted for them.

The band came into view. They were up on a stage that had been wheeled out to the square, and dragons hopped around them as they played. A wide-eyed dragon Tiger’s size scampered up the violinist’s leg before leaping off into the crowd.

The lady with the half blond hair pulled Jorel closer, and he felt his face heat up a little as she placed one hand on his shoulder. She took his other hand in her own, and she led them in a jaunty dance across the square. Tiger chirped happily as they two of them twirled around to the upbeat song. Jorel couldn’t help but mirror her mood.

“I’m Vanessa,” the lady said. “You?”

“Jorel,” he responded. It was difficult to hear over the music, but he could read her lips just fine.

Vanessa glanced at the band as they passed by the stage. “Can you play any instruments?”

Jorel shrugged. “I play a bit of bass.”

They passed by the stage, and Vanessa looked up at the woman in front shaking a tambourine. “You guys got a spare bass?”

The woman paused in her playing and hopped off the stage. She picked something up off the ground and hauled it onto the stage, and Jorel’s eyes widened a little when he saw it was a bass.

Vanessa nodded towards the stage. “You wanna play?”

He hesitated. Tiger nudged him with her nose and whimpered, and he took a deep breath before he hopped on stage. The crowd cheered harder as the woman with the tambourine handed him the bass.

He looked out at the dancing crowd. He was a little nervous to be playing in front of people, but he began to pluck the strings. The rest of the band followed the beat as the sound thrummed through the air, and he grinned. It had been a while since he played music. He became so enthralled with the song, he didn’t even notice Danny and Dylan making their way through the crowd.

Danny looked up at the stage. “Looks like Jay’s having fun.”

Dylan followed his gaze. “Yeah, I guess.” He turned back to Danny. “So, where are we going?”

Danny shrugged. “A tavern, maybe. You want a drink?”

“Hell yeah.”

Danny led Dylan and their dragons towards the edge of the town square. He spotted a large building with a sign hanging over the door. He saw the word “tavern” on the sign and made his way over to the building.

They pushed through the door. People looked up at them from the bar, raising their mugs and bottles and cheering as the heroes entered the tavern. Dragons squeaked happily and trotted up to Lion and Dove to say hello.

Danny led Dylan over to the bar as their dragons socialized. People clapped Danny and Dylan on the shoulders and shouted in excitement. Danny simply responded with a polite smile. He didn’t really like the uninvited contact, but he didn’t want to brush them off. They were just trying to be friendly.

Danny stopped at the bar. Dylan walked up next to him, clinging close as if Danny was a teddy bear. The bartender shot them a smile. “What’ll it be, boys? We got beer, ale, whiskey, wine— pick your poison!”

Danny hesitated. He hadn’t drunk alcohol in twenty years.

Luckily, he didn’t need to choose. “Gimme two pints of ale and a bottle of whiskey,” Dylan requested. “Maybe two bottles for good measure.”

The bartender immediately began pouring liquid into two mugs. Danny dug around in his bag and was relieved when his hand closed on his coin purse. He took it out and pulled the drawstring open. “What do I owe you?” he asked the bartender.

The bartender waved his hand dismissively. “It’s on the house! Least I can do for the heroes of Angeles.” He placed two mugs on the countertop, along with two bottles of whiskey. “Here you are. Enjoy!”

Dylan took one of the mugs in one hand and the two bottles in the other. Danny hesitantly took the other mug and followed Dylan through the crowd towards a table. Dylan sat down, and Danny sat across from him. Dylan had chosen a table close to the wall, and while people could still see them, it was a little more secluded than the other tables scattered around the tavern.

Dylan chugged half of his mug with one hand and uncorked one of the bottles with the other. He set the mug back on the table and took a swig of whiskey. “So,” he said, wiping his mouth. “What do you want to know?”

Danny blinked. “I’m sorry?”

Dylan furrowed his brow. “I thought this was how the story was going. One of us gets a character arc, they have a mental breakdown, and the supporting character in the arc asks them about their life.” He drank more of his ale. “Unless we’re mixing it up for my character development.”

Danny raised an eyebrow. “Do you... _want_ to tell me about your life?”

Dylan shrugged. “Do you want to hear it?”

“Not sure,” Danny muttered. He took a sip from his mug and grimaced. “Bitter.”

“I shoulda gotten you the beer,” Dylan said. “Sorry.”

Danny took another sip. The taste had been startling at first, but now that he was prepared, it wasn’t that bad. He set his mug back down and stared at the table, lost in thought. “I’m just wondering... I know you’re upset about Grenade. But why did you keep trying to not cry?”

Dylan sighed. “I just didn’t want to. That’s it.”

Danny looked at him expectantly. Dylan tried to stare him down, but Danny’s stubbornness proved to be stronger than Dylan’s. Dylan leaned back in his chair and took a sip from his mug. “I’m not used to showing that much emotion around people. I’m... I’m not an emotional person. It feels weird for me to cry. I don’t like needing comfort from other people.”

Despite Danny’s inability to read other people, he seemed to understand what Dylan meant more than Dylan himself did. “You ignore your own feelings to make room for other people’s problems. You like caring for other people, but you don’t like other people caring for you.”

Dylan blinked in surprise. “How do you do that?”

“Do what?”

“Read me like a damn book.” Dylan sipped from his mug. “I don’t wanna talk about my problems anymore.”

Danny shrugged. “Okay.” He knew Dylan was upset, and suppressing his emotions wasn’t going to do him any good. He thought it might be good for Dylan to talk about his problems, but if he didn’t want to, Danny wouldn’t force him. “Why don’t you tell me about your dragons back home? Why’d you decide to live in a cave as a forest hermit?”

Dylan snorted. He took a swig of whiskey. “That’s a pretty long story.” He set one of the bottles in front of Danny. “Here. It tastes better.”

Danny uncorked the bottle and took a sip. It did taste better than the ale, but it also burned a little in his throat. “We’ve got time, man,” he said. “Why do you live in a forest?”

Dylan shrugged. “Don’t like people, I guess. Never have.”

Danny shot him a skeptical look. “Seriously? You’re the biggest people person I know.”

“You don’t know many people,” Dylan pointed out.

Danny nodded. “True. But you love crowds. You love being around people.” He leaned forward. “You don’t have to lie to me, man. You were literally sobbing in my arms a couple hours ago. I think we’re pretty much family at this point.”

Dylan sighed. He studied Danny’s face, and he knew that he couldn’t lie to him.

“Fine.” Dylan chugged the rest of his ale and set his mug on the table. “I’m not doing this sober, though.”

Danny waited patiently as Dylan took his bottle of whiskey and took another swig. “Fucking character development,” Dylan grumbled into his bottle as he lowered it from his lips. He took a deep breath to collect his thoughts before he began to speak.

“I used to live in one of the smaller towns,” he said. “With my parents. My dad was a dragon companion, a keeper, like me. He had a small dragon about Louie’s size. My mom was cool with it, and so was I. It’s not like I knew people usually didn’t like dragons.” He paused to take a sip of his whiskey. His words were starting to slur together a little. “I didn’t go to school, because it’s not like we could afford that shit.”

Danny nodded. “Alright. Where does the forest hermit part come in?”

Dylan snorted. “Dude, I’m gettin’ there.” He pointed to Danny’s mug of ale. “You gonna drink that?”

Danny pushed the mug across the table. “Go ahead.”

Dylan took the mug. “Anyway, my dad was a companion. When I was fifteen, someone heard that we were keeping a dragon in our house and reported our family to the nobleman who ran the town.” He sipped at the mug of ale and shrugged. “Next thing we knew, the door was being kicked down by a bunch of guards. My parents told me to run away, and I did. Right into the forest behind the house.” He swirled his ale around in the mug. “And that’s how I became a forest hermit.”

Danny stared at him. “I feel like there’s more to that story than you’re letting on. Where’d you find a cave in the woods? Were your parents okay? How’d you become a dragon keeper? When did you meet Grenade?”

Dylan sighed. “You wanna know?”

“Yeah, dude. You can’t just say ‘people broke into my house and I ran away’ and then leave it at that.”

Dylan tapped his fingernail against the table. “I guess.” He took a deep breath. “Okay. Here comes my life story.”

Danny leaned forward eagerly and drank from his bottle as Dylan began talking again.

“I ran away because I was scared for my life,” Dylan said, his gaze fixed on the table. “I had no idea if my parents would be killed for keeping a dragon or if they would only kill the dragon, but they told me to run so that’s what I did. I got lost in the forest. I wandered around, looking for a town, but I couldn’t find one.” He leaned back in his chair and swished his ale in his mug. “I survived in the wild on my own for a long ass time. Not even sure how long it was, to be honest.”

“And you met Grenade in the forest?” Danny asked.

Dylan nodded. “Yep.” He raised the mug to his lips and drained half the pint. “I found a big tunnel in the ground, and I stayed near it for a while. I didn’t know what it was until a small dragon family crawled out, two parents and a hatchling. That was Grenade. I’d never seen dragons bigger than the one my dad kept, so I stayed away from them at first. I thought about leaving the area, but I was curious and wanted to see what dragons were like out in the wild.” He tapped his finger on the side of his mug. “Bunch of hunters came through at one point. They didn’t see me, but they were looking for dragons. The mom nudged baby Grenade away from their hole in the ground and squawked at him, and he ran away. I ran, too. The hunters had weapons, and it scared me, so I left.”

Danny took a sip from his bottle. He was starting to get used to the burn of the whiskey. “Did you go after Grenade?”

Dylan made a vague gesture with his hand and took another swig of ale. The alcohol in his system seemed to be getting to him. “Sorta. Didn’t really mean to, honestly. Grenade ran away first, and I happened to run the same way. We bumped into each other near a stream. We were both scared at first, but we warmed up to each other. We lived in the forest together for months before we eventually found our way to an area with a few towns nearby. We made a burrow in the forest, and I learned how to pick pockets so I could get food for us easier. Years later, we turned to straight up robbery. Speaking of stealing things...” He dug around in his pocket and pulled out a coin purse. He set it on the table. “I may or may not have snitched this from you.”

Danny furrowed his brow. He opened up his bag and rifled through it, but his coin purse was nowhere to be found. He turned back to the small cloth bag on the table with a perplexed look on his face. “Wh... when did you do that?”

“Just before we sat down,” Dylan admitted. “I was gonna return it at some point. I just wanted to see if you would notice.”

Danny took the purse and put it back in his bag. He looked up again as Dylan continued with his story.

“We hunted and stole things to survive,” Dylan said. “Other dragons started staying with us since they didn’t have anywhere else to go. I took care of them as best I could, and...” He shrugged. “That’s how I became a dragon keeper in the forest.” He finished off his ale and set the mug back down. “We eventually found our way back to the town I used to live in, just to see if my old house was there, but the whole thing was burned to the ground. Pretty sure my parents were burned with it.” He leaned back in his seat. He fixed his gaze on the table. “When the rider took Grenade... it felt like I was losing my family all over again,” he muttered, just loud enough for Danny to hear.

Danny nodded slowly. “I... I get it. I mean, we’re from totally different backgrounds, and I never lived in a forest, but...” He sighed. “Losing a family is definitely something I understand.”

Dylan rested his head on his arms on the table, slouching over in his seat. He kept one hand around his bottle of whiskey. “I don’t wanna lose him,” he mumbled. His eyes shone with tears. “He’s probably already dead. This whole thing is fuckin’ pointless. I... I can’t do this again.”

At the sight of Dylan’s tears, a memory wormed its way through Danny’s alcohol-muddled mind. Dylan liked physical comfort.

Danny stood up, dragged his chair over to Dylan’s side of the table, and sat down again. Dylan immediately leaned on Danny’s shoulder, and Danny’s hand found its way into Dylan’s hair. Dylan took a slightly shaky breath as Danny ran his fingers through Dylan’s curls. They simultaneously took a swig from their whiskey bottles.

Danny hadn’t been this close with a person for twenty years. It was a little weird to him, being able to just sit next to a person and immediately start cuddling, but it was also kind of nice. Being close to dragons was one thing, but being close with other people was something completely different.

“You’re hugging me willingly,” Dylan mumbled. “Maybe this is your character arc instead of mine.”

Danny snorted. “I still have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“I know.” Dylan sipped his whiskey again. He raised his head a little as something in the crowd caught his attention. “Hey, I think we got company.”

Danny followed his gaze, and his face heated up immediately. Theresa was making her way towards them, another familiar lady right behind her. It registered in his head that it was Anna from the graveyard.

The two of them stopped in front of their table. “Hey,” Theresa said with a smile. “Enjoying yourselves?”

Danny opened his mouth to respond, but he stumbled over his words. “We’re, uh— we’re fine, we just— we— we got... drinks.”

Theresa nodded towards the bottle in Danny’s hand. “I can see that. How much have you drunk already?”

Dylan held up two fingers. “I got two mugs of ale.” He pointed to Danny. “He’s just tipsy.”

Theresa bent down to look Danny in the eyes. “You sure look more drunk than that.”

Dylan waved a hand dismissively. “Nah, he just likes you.”

Danny elbowed Dylan in the ribs. “Dude!”

Dylan grinned and poked Danny’s arm. “You liiiiiike her. You think she’s pretty.”

Dylan smirked mischievously as Danny’s face turned beet red. “No— well, yeah but— I mean— I don’t— I just—”

Theresa straightened, still smiling. It could have just been the dim lights of the tavern, but Dylan could have sworn he spotted a slight rosy flush in her cheeks. “If it means anything, I think you’re not too shabby yourself.”

Danny gaped at her. Dylan decided to interject before Danny could say something dumb and make a fool out of himself.

“So, what’s up?” he asked.

Anna gestured to the door. “Your friends are in the square. I think they want you outside.”

Danny and Dylan exchanged a brief glance. Dylan lifted his head off Danny’s shoulders to chug the rest of his whiskey. He set the bottle on the table and stood. “Aight. Let’s go, Danny boy.”

Danny stood up. To Dylan’s surprise, Danny raised his bottle to his lips and drained the rest of it. Danny caught Dylan’s confused stare and shrugged. “What? I’m not doing this sober.”

He set his bottle on the table and slung an arm around Dylan’s shoulders. The two of them made their way over to the door, Theresa and Anna in tow.

Dylan raised two fingers to his mouth and let out a sharp whistle. “Hey, Dove! Where you at, homie?”

Dove poked her head up above the crowd and squeaked. She shambled along through the tavern, the crowd parting for her to allow her an easy path to Dylan. Lion trotted after her. The two dragons reached their companions, and Dove nudged Dylan’s hand with her nose and whined. Lion rested her head on Danny’s shoulder and purred. The two of them took a moment to scratch their dragons’ heads before turning back to the door.

They emerged in the square, and the people closest to the tavern cheered at the sight of the two. Companions danced in the square as the band played an upbeat tune on the stage. Was it Dylan’s imagination, or was it a completely different band from before?

Then he realized that yes, it was a different band. Only three people were on stage, Jorel included. Dylan’s eyes widened when he saw the glowing butterfly on the back of the guitar player’s cloak. The violinist danced across the stage, leading the song with a jaunty melody.

Dylan would recognize those drunken dance moves anywhere. “Why are Jordon and George on stage?”

Anna shrugged. “Not sure. They’re having a good time, though. Jorel told us to come find you, so we did. We think they want you to play with them.”

Dylan was a little hesitant. He didn’t really know how to play any instruments.

However, Danny took Dylan’s hand and pulled him through the crowd with a smile on his face. “Come on!”

Lion and Dove followed them towards the stage, squawking in excitement. They weaved between pairs of dancing companions and their dragons, accompanied by whoops and cheers as the crowd recognized them as two of the heroes.

They stopped at the stage, and Jordon paused in his dancing to smile down at them. “Come on!” he shouted over the music.

Danny hopped on stage. “Anyone got a fiddle?”

Someone in the crowd tossed him an instrument. He caught the fiddle in one hand and the bow in the other with a grin. He launched into a tune that matched Jordon’s, taking the lead in the song and allowing Jordon to play the lower notes.

Danny nodded towards Dylan. “Get up here!”

“I don’t know how to play anything!” Dylan admitted.

“Here!” Anna appeared next to him with a tambourine. “These ain’t hard to figure out!”

Dylan hesitated, but Dove nudged him in the back, urging him forward. He took the tambourine and hauled himself on stage. Cheers rose up from the crowd, loud enough to drown out the music for a moment. He stared out at the dancing crowd, and their energy brought a smile to Dylan’s face. He hit the tambourine against his hand and started to dance around with Jordon.

Dove and Lion clambered onto the stage. Dove hopped around to the beat as Lion trotted up to Tiger. Tiger leaped onto Lion’s back, chirping happily, and Lion started to dance around with Dove. A hot wave of wind washed over them, and Dylan looked up to see Viral and Monarch looking down at them. Viral bobbed his head along to the song.

Jordon grinned at Dylan. “Having fun?” he shouted over the music.

Dylan nodded. “Hell yeah! I didn’t know you could play the violin!”

Jordon shrugged. “I can play the guitar, too, but...” He nodded towards George, who was laughing as he spun across the stage with his instrument in his hands. “George got that one first. He’s pretty good at it!”

Dylan watched as Danny danced over to Jorel. To his surprise, Jorel smiled as Danny approached. They leaned against each other, back to back, and laughed with joy as they played their music.

Dylan smiled. Something about this scene just felt... right. It felt like making music together was what the five of them were meant for.

They kept playing after the sun fully set and well into the morning. The people of Light Sky City didn’t seem to want to stop dancing, and the dragons in the crowd were just as ecstatic as their companions. Happy squawks and chirps accompanied the heroes’ lively tune as they played.

They took a few breaks in their playing to have some drinks, but there were always at least two of them on stage at all times. None of them wanted to give up the music for too long. At one point, Dylan and Jorel were the only two on stage. Jorel had gotten a hold of George’s guitar, and he ended up sitting on Dylan’s shoulders as the two of them played an upbeat duet. The others came back on stage soon after. Jorel grabbed a bottle of beer, and he held it up to Danny’s mouth so he could drink as he played. George even fell off stage, but he somehow kept playing even as he landed in the throng of people. The crowd seemed to love their antics, because their cheering and dancing only got more enthusiastic.

Jordon seemed completely at home on the stage. He danced around to his heart’s content, shouting at the crowd and getting them more excited than they already were. Dylan had never seen him so in his element before.

After hours and hours of partying, the five heroes finally decided to turn in for the night. Another group of people took the stage to pick up the music again after they left. The five of them went to an inn, all of them drinking and laughing together like they’d been friends for ages. They pushed through the door with their arms wrapped around each others’ shoulders. Dove, Lion, and Tiger jogged along behind them.

The innkeeper gave them a room free of charge. They went up to their room to see that the far wall was open, allowing Viral and Monarch a view of the inside. Viral rested his head on the floor and purred as soon as he spotted his companion.

Despite the fact that there were multiple beds in the room, the five heroes all collapsed on the same one. It just seemed wrong to split up after they’d spent so much time together.

George finished off his last bottle of whiskey and rested his head on Jordon’s shoulder. Danny leaned on Jordon’s chest, and Dylan flopped onto the bed next to him. Jorel draped himself across Danny and Dylan and feel asleep immediately, his empty beer bottle slipping from his grip and falling on the ground. Danny’s hand made its way back into Dylan’s hair.

For the first time in almost a week, the five of them fell asleep and had a good, long rest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i've got a few more dragons that are going to be important in future chapters, so i'll post those on tumblr and link it in the next chapter since one of them shows up fairly soon. anyway, if i don't get around to updating my Xmas fic before the new year, then have a happy new year!!


	31. I Am

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thought i would post a new chapter today since i have work all day tomorrow. also, i made some more dragons and posted them on tumblr. only the first one is relevant to this chapter, but the other two come in soon, so i figured i'd post them all at once. it's been a while since i posted a link of anything, so forgive me if i fucked it up! 
> 
> [here they are](https://tiredauthor.tumblr.com/post/190024262044/just-a-few-more-dragons-for-my-shitty-hu-fic)

A dull, painful throbbing in Dylan’s head pulled him out of his sleep. He grunted in pain, and a moment later, he felt the tongue of a dragon lick at his face.

“Grenade, stop,” he mumbled. He rolled over in bed, but his pillow felt oddly warmer than usual. And was it his imagination, or was that someone’s hand in his hair?

Then the memories of the past day came flooding back to him. His eyes snapped open and he sat bolt upright, ignoring the pain in his head. He glanced around frantically. He was on a bed in a room with George, Jordon, Jorel, and Danny. Lion lay nearby, Tiger curled up on her back and snoring away. Viral still had his head resting on the floor, and he opened one eye when he noticed Dylan moving.

Dylan heard a whine and looked down. Dove lay next to the bed. She craned her neck and licked at his hand.

He scratched her on the head. As he remembered everything that had happened last night, he couldn’t but think that Grenade would have loved it. He liked being around people just as much as Dylan did.

He felt someone tug on the back of his cloak. “Dilly, go back to sleep,” Danny’s hoarse voice mumbled.

Dylan didn’t move. His hungover brain was still having trouble processing the events that happened just the day before. Was Grenade really gone? Had that just been a crazy dream?

“Dylbug, come on,” Jordon muttered. “It’s too early.”

To Dylan’s surprise, Jorel moved. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his pocket watch. He squinted at it. “It’s almost noon,” he croaked. He put a hand on his head and groaned. “Ow.”

“As long as we’re all awake, we should probably get up,” George’s voice mumbled.

The other three all grumbled under their breath and didn’t move. Dylan looked up at the door as the sound of footsteps in the hall met his ears. The door swung open, and Anna walked in, a dragon with a long body and six wings like Tiger’s twined around her shoulders. The half-blond girl Jorel had met last night followed Anna through the doorway. What was her name again?

“You guys up?” Anna asked.

All of them but Dylan groaned. George turned over and wrapped his arms around Jordon. It didn’t look like he wanted to get out of bed any time soon.

Jorel lifted his head slightly to look at the people intruding on their sleep. “Hey... hey Vasnass,” he mumbled.

A grin twitched at the half-blond lady’s lips. “Close. It’s Vanessa. Anyway, you all need to get up. Asia says that Theresa says that Randi was out scouting and she bumped into a messenger who told her that someone else told him that your evil dragon rider was spotted near the Jailer’s Keep.”

“His army of dragons has also attacked an entire village,” Anna added with a dejected sigh. “We’ve got people trying to take care of it, but they’re not doing too well. The sooner you guys can take this rider down, the better.”

Jorel heaved a sigh, but he rolled off the bed and fell on the floor. Tiger perked up at the loud thump. She scampered over to her companion and licked his face.

Danny pushed himself up so he was sitting next to Dylan. He put a hand on Dylan’s shoulder. “You good, man?”

Dylan took a deep breath and nodded. “Yeah.” He scooted over to the edge of the bed and swung his legs over the side. He bent down to nudge Jorel. “Come on, Jay.”

Jorel grunted in protest, but he took Dylan’s hand and pulled himself up. He struggled to his feet, but he stumbled backwards and almost crashed into the nightstand. Vanessa rushed forward to steady him before he could fall.

“M’fine,” he mumbled.

Vanessa draped his arm over her shoulders to keep him upright. “You guys should clean up. We’ll get you something to eat before you take off.”

* * *

Dylan wrapped his hair ribbon around his finger as he waited for the other guys. He was the first to finish washing up, and now he sat at a table on the main floor of the inn with Anna. He’d snitched Danny’s coin purse again so he could pay for breakfast, despite the many times the innkeeper told him he could eat for free. The people in this city had already done so much for the five of them, and paying them for basic services was the least he could do.

Anna scratched her dragon behind its horns and leaned back in her chair. “So... I never really got to tell you yesterday, but I like your hair.”

Dylan already knew that, since Danny delivered the compliment for her, but hearing it from her made his face flush a little against his will. “Oh. Thanks. I... I like yours, too.”

Anna twirled a strand of her hair between her fingers. “Thanks,” she said quietly. Her ears turned red and she fixed her gaze on the table.

Dylan didn’t know what to say. Why did his face feel hot? Why was his stomach tying itself in knots? Where was his usual confidence? He blamed it on Grenade’s absence. He would have been totally fine if Grenade had been with him.

Footsteps pounded on the stairs, and Danny and Jorel entered the dining room, their dragons trotting along behind them. Danny jogged up to Dylan and ruffled his hair. “Hey man. You ready to go?”

Dylan shrugged. “Yeah. You?”

“Gonna eat breakfast real quick,” he said as Jorel sat down at another table. “Also...” He held out his hand. “I know you took it.”

Dylan sighed and placed Danny’s coin purse in his palm. “Sorry. Force of habit.”

Danny tossed his coin purse back in his bag and walked over to join Jorel at his table. Dylan sighed and rested his chin on his hand. Anna said that she wanted to join the guys when they went to visit the Jailer, and he didn’t know if he’d be able to stand it if this awkward atmosphere was going to stick around.

He had a feeling this was going to be a long trip.

* * *

Dylan kept twirling his hair ribbon in his fingers as he stood on Monarch’s back. Anna had joined them, and so had Vanessa, Asia, Theresa, and a lady Jordon had met last night, whose name was Randi. She didn’t have a dragon, which was surprising, since everyone else in Light Sky City seemed to have one, but she didn’t seem to mind. She sat behind Jordon on Viral’s back and smiled as the two of them conversed.

Vanessa had joined them on Viral so Jorel wouldn’t be a third wheel. Her dragon was about Lion’s size, and its feathers faded from black to pink. Vanessa’s dragon chirped back and forth with Tiger while their companions spoke.

Asia had taken over Danny’s role as navigator, since she knew the Underground better than any of the heroes. She and her dragon sat close to George as she directed him towards the Sick Man’s Sick Land, where the Jailer’s Keep resided.

Randi leaned forward so Jordon could hear her over the wind. “So, how long have you been a hero?”

Jordon shrugged. Having someone blatantly flirting with him like this boosted his confidence a _lot_. “Only about a week. I think I’m pretty good at it so far.”

“I can’t wait to see you in action,” she said with a grin.

Jordon wasn’t sure if she meant that she wanted to see him in battle or in a _different_ kind of action, but either one would be fine by him. “I’d love to show you sometime,” he said, shooting her a quick smirk.

He winced as a sharp pain prodded at the back of his head. “Ow,” he muttered. “Fucking hangover.”

“Hey, George!” Jay shouted, interrupting Jordon and Randi’s conversation. “Are you sensing something?”

“I think so!” George yelled back. “We’re headed straight for it!”

The pain in Jordon’s head settled into a faint buzz. He tried to continue his conversation with Randi, but the buzzing in the back of his head only got stronger as they flew. Maybe he shouldn’t have drunk as much as he did.

Dylan stared out at the ground as Monarch soared through the sky. Dove lied down next to him, and she purred when he leaned against her. He couldn’t quite get thoughts of Grenade out of his mind. If Grenade was dead, this would be Dylan’s first full day without his dragon. He still found it hard to process that Grenade wasn’t with him anymore. Part of his brain was telling him that it wasn’t real, that it was just a dream, but there was no other way he could explain Grenade’s absence. The rider had taken Grenade, and that was that. 

He saw someone sit next to him out of the corner of his eye. He looked up just as Danny lowered himself down and swung his legs over Monarch’s side.

“You good?” Danny asked.

Dylan took a deep breath and twisted his hair ribbon in his fingers. “Yeah. Just... a little hungover, I guess.”

He felt Danny’s skeptical gaze slide over him. Then Danny held his hand out. “Here. Let me tie your hair back. It’s gonna be hot on the ground.”

Dylan handed Danny his hair ribbon, and Danny scooted behind him. Danny rummaged through his bag for a moment before pulling out a tiny cloth bag. “Here, if you need something to fidget with.”

He tossed the bag to Dylan, who caught it in both hands. He thought it was Danny’s coin purse for a moment, but he pulled the drawstring open and was greeted by a tiny cloud of darkness. He reached in and pulled out the small twig from the Grove of Loss.

He put the twig back and took out the crystal from the No-Way-Out Caves instead. He wished he knew why the rider had been carrying this stuff around, but he figured they wouldn’t get an answer unless they asked the rider directly, and that was definitely not an option. He turned the crystal in his fingers as Danny tied his hair back.

Dylan’s thoughts turned back to Grenade, and he sighed. He wished more than anything that Grenade was there with him.

Danny paused in the middle of braiding Dylan’s hair when he heard him sigh. “You okay?” Danny asked.

Dylan opened his mouth to say he was fine, but he figured there was no point in lying to Danny. “No,” he muttered. He tapped his finger against the crystal in his hands as thoughts swarmed in his head. He wished he could make his brain shut up, but trying to keep his thoughts quiet was pointless. He kept wondering if maybe Grenade’s death was his fault, and maybe if he had just been a little bit quicker, he could have saved Grenade from the dragon rider, and Grenade would still be there with him, and he wouldn’t be feeling so awful, and—

Danny’s hand reached out and brushed a tear off Dylan’s face. Dylan hadn’t realized that he’d started softly crying as Danny braided his hair.

Dylan sniffled. “Sorry.”

Danny tied off the end of the braid and moved so he was sitting next to Dylan again. “Don’t apologize,” he said quietly. “You’re allowed to be upset.”

Dylan buried his face in his hands as Danny wrapped an arm around his shoulders. “Fuck grief,” he grumbled. “Fuck this.”

“We’re here!” George called.

Dylan wiped his eyes and looked down as Monarch swooped towards the ground. They had left the large island of the Underground behind and made their way towards a smaller island north of the mainland. It was still covered in sand, and wind blew across the dunes in hot blasts. The air was warm. Dylan was glad Danny had tied his hair back. He would be boiling if he’d left his hair down.

As they descended towards the island, a large shape came into view. It took Dylan a moment to realize that it was a dragon. He thought it looked sort of like Viral for a moment because of the tall ridges lining its back, but they got closer, and he saw that it was much too big to be Viral’s breed. Its body faded from a light, sandy brown to a deep, blood red, which contrasted beautifully with its iridescent green wings. Its wings shimmered in the sunlight, changing from a yellowish tint to a rich, bright green. White spikes lined its back between its ridges.

As they watched, the dragon raised its head and loosed a guttural roar. The sand beneath it shifted as if the ground was shaking. Dylan automatically clutched Danny’s arm at the sound. Monarch stopped in the air and hovered, and Viral came to a halt with him.

George furrowed his brow. “Asia, didn’t you say yesterday that the Jailer was acting up?”

Asia nodded. “Yes. We have no idea why she’s doing this, but people have been avoiding the Sick Man’s Sick Land so they wouldn’t have to deal with the earthquakes.”

“Earthquakes?” Jorel squeaked.

“The Jailer has the ability to kick up huge sandstorms and cause devastating earthquakes,” Vanessa explained. “She’s the biggest desert dragon in the realm. She’s really dangerous, but maybe she’ll listen to another Great Dragon.”

“Let’s hope so,” George muttered. He spurred Monarch forward, and Viral lurched after him.

They landed on the ground, kicking up a cloud of sand. Monarch grunted and lifted his foot. He shook it, and an old, rusted shield flew out from between his claws.

Jordon looked down. “Whoa. Isn’t this where the Jailer drove off thousands of humans who were trying to take over the Underground?”

George nodded slowly. “If there are dead soldiers here, we should probably hurry it up. We don’t want a repeat of the Undead Chasm.”

“What’s that?” Theresa asked.

All five heroes shuddered at the memory of the undead soldiers crawling out of the ground and attacking them. “You don’t wanna know,” Danny answered.

All the dragons and companions (plus Randi) slid off Viral and Monarch. Dylan gazed up at the Jailer in awe as his boots thudded on the sand. Sure, Monarch was a Great Dragon, but both of them being in each other’s presence created a charged tension in the air. It felt almost as if they were lit explosives with no timers. One could blow at any moment, and if one went off, the other one would as well.

George had remained on Monarch’s back while the others hopped to the ground. Monarch held his head high and walked towards the Jailer. The Jailer had been lying down in the sand, but her red eyes connected with Monarch’s, and she pushed herself to her feet. She stood up straight and let Monarch approach, looking down her long nose at the Great Dragon in her territory.

Monarch stopped in front of the Jailer. He bent one front leg and lowered himself into a bow, his chin brushing the ground. It was difficult to see from this distance, but Dylan was pretty sure he saw George kneeling on Monarch’s neck with his head bowed.

The Jailer studied the Guardian and his rider for a moment. Then she nodded once, and Monarch stood up straight. George took up his reins again. “Thank you for your hospitality,” he said.

The Jailer’s throat rumbled in response, but her growl turned into a strangled cough. She lowered her head and hacked into the sand, convulsing with each cough, and her legs buckled beneath her. She fell to the ground. The heroes all rushed forward, followed by the girls and the dragons.

George slid off Monarch’s back and ran up to the Jailer. “What’s wrong?”

The Jailer’s face screwed into a scowl, and she raised her head and screeched. The ground trembled as if she had channeled the sound into the sand itself. Dylan and Jordon grabbed each other’s shoulders to keep themselves from losing their balance.

George stumbled, but he managed not to fall as the ground shook. Waves of sand blew through the air, and he squeezed his eyes shut, wind whipping over him and sending his cape fluttering.

The ground stilled. George hesitantly opened one eye and looked up. The Jailer was breathing heavily. As he watched, she let out a whimper and lowered her head to the ground.

Jordon furrowed his brow. “She’s in pain,” he muttered.

Theresa’s eyes widened. “Shit, you’re right. She’s hurt.”

George exchanged a glance with Monarch. Monarch nodded once and grunted. George steeled his nerves and stepped closer to the Jailer. He took a knee again, not wanting to show any disrespect for the dragon who had accepted them into her territory. “Would you like to tell us what happened to you?” he asked.

The Jailer’s red gaze bore into him. After a moment, she turned her head to reveal a wound on her neck. George inhaled sharply when he saw the grey scales surrounding the deep, jagged cut.

“Shit,” Jordon whispered. He started forward, digging his mortar and pestle out of his bag, but he stopped short when George grabbed his arm.

“You can’t just invade a Great Dragon’s space,” George hissed.

Jordon glanced up at the Jailer and sighed. “She needs help,” he whispered back.

“We have to ask her.” George turned back to the Jailer. “We’ve seen wounds like these before,” he said. “The Guardian was injured in the same manner just two days ago. Jordon Terrell here saved him before the magic in the wound could kill him. Jordon would like to help, if you would allow him.”

The Jailer’s gaze turned to Jordon. She looked him up and down and growled.

Danny raised a brow. “Uh, she says she smells the blood of dragons on Jordon? Not sure why. She doesn’t want him to get near her unless she knows she can trust him.”

Jordon’s shoulders tensed. He opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out. He coughed into his fist and took a step back.

“Jordon is a capable healer,” George said. “He’s helped dragons who have been injured, and not all of them survive. However, the blood is old, and Jordon’s healing capabilities have improved. He hasn’t lost a dragon in years.”

George and Jordon both held their breath. George didn’t want to lie to a Great Dragon, but keeping Jordon’s secret was more important. Besides, the Jailer might not let him help if she knew the truth.

The Jailer narrowed her eyes, but she nodded. Jordon breathed a sigh of relief and walked up to Jailer, mortar and pestle in hand.

Dylan watched as Jordon began to work on the Jailer’s wound. Theresa approached the Jailer as well and asked for permission to help, and the Jailer nodded. Theresa dug her own mortar and pestle from her bag and got to work. Hopefully, with two healers, the Jailer would be fine.

The Jailer turned to look in Dylan’s direction. Her throat rumbled, and Danny nudged him. “Dude, she wants to talk to you,” he said.

Dylan hesitated. The dragon was intimidating, to say the least. However, he got the feeling he shouldn’t reject a Great Dragon’s request. He walked towards her, and Dove tromped along next to him.

He stopped next to George. He wasn’t sure if he should kneel like George had, but he decided to do so just to be safe. He lowered himself onto one knee. Dove bowed her head as well.

The Jailer examined Dylan with her deep red gaze. Her throat rumbled again, and she shifted one of her front feet. Beneath it was a flat slab of stone half buried in the sand. She nodded towards it and looked back to Dylan.

Monarch grunted. “She wants you to go into the glowy cave,” George translated.

Dylan furrowed his brow. “By myself?”

George shrugged. “Don’t question her, man. Great Dragons are stubborn.”

Monarch huffed. George rolled his eyes. “Yeah, whatever.” He turned back to Dylan. “Go ahead, man. We’ll be fine out here.”

Dylan hesitantly stood up. He approached the flat stone, and with one last cautious glance at the Jailer, he knelt down on the rock. He didn’t want to let Dove out of his sight, but dragons weren’t allowed in these caves. He was just scared that something would happen to her. She was the only dragon he had left.

Danny seemed to notice his distress, because he took a step towards the Jailer. “Um, maybe one of us can go with him? Dylan recently lost a dragon, and we’d like to be there for him.”

The Jailer shook her head. Danny sighed and stepped back. Dylan appreciated Danny’s concern, but he already had a feeling that the Jailer only wanted Dylan in the cave.

Dylan took a deep breath and placed his hand on the stone. A green handprint appeared beneath his palm, and the stone cracked in the middle. He braced himself as both sides of the rock swung downward, and he tumbled into the darkness below.

He grunted as he landed on his back on a mound of sand. He sat up and pushed himself to his feet. He had landed in a large cavern in the crude shape of a triangle. The entrance above him sat at the point of the shape, and the rest of the room spread out in front of him. Green glowing lines snaked across the rock, illuminating the cave.

Dylan glanced around. Wasn’t there supposed to be a ghost of a dead hero that would show up and give him shitty life advice?

“You’re Dylan, right?”

His daggers were in his hands the moment the voice spoke. He whirled around, searching for the source of the voice. “Who are you?”

Green mist rose from the swirls on the floor. It twisted into a vague silhouette of a person, and Dylan lowered his knives.

“One of the old heroes,” the silhouette answered. “How’s it going, my dude?”

Dylan sighed and let his daggers disappear into his sleeves. “Well, one of my dragons is probably dead, and we’re chasing an evil dragon rider who’s trying to kill every dragon in the world. So it’s going fucking great.”

The hero nodded. His cloak obscured his face, but Dylan spotted a strand of long hair poking out from the fabric. “Right. About that...”

A squawk of a dragon echoed off the walls. Dylan’s eyes widened. He’d recognize that sound anywhere.

A section of the far wall opened, and a dragon came sprinting out. Its black fur would have made it blend in with the darkness, if not for its bright yellow underbelly and horns. Its bright green eyes gleamed with happiness as it dashed towards Dylan.

Tears of relief spilled from Dylan’s eyes as Grenade practically tackled his companion. Dylan toppled to the ground and laughed with joy, Grenade licking at his face and squeaking happily.

“He sought shelter with the Jailer because he didn’t know where his companion was,” the hero said. “He said he was taken by an evil dragon rider, and after the rider tried to convince him to join his dragon army, Grenade was able to get away. He tried to find you, but when that failed, he came here.”

Grenade nuzzled into Dylan’s shoulder, and tears of happiness pricked his eyes as he scratched his dragon behind the horns. He had almost been certain that Grenade was dead, and seeing him alive and safe was the biggest relief in the world.

Dylan stood up and Grenade straightened. He purred and rested his chin on Dylan’s head. Dylan wrapped his arms around Grenade and buried his face in his feathers, tears spilling over his cheeks, ecstatic to have his best friend back.

“He missed you,” the hero said. “He says this was the longest you two have been separated since you met.”

Dylan pulled away from Grenade for a moment to examine his dragon’s face. He almost couldn’t believe that Grenade was alive. It seemed too good to be true.

The hero had been floating above the floor, but now he lowered himself onto the stone, sending up a cloud of green mist. “So, down to business.” He looked Dylan up and down. “You’re definitely a decent hero. Overall, George picked a good successor for me.” He walked around Dylan and Grenade with his arms crossed. “You care about your dragon, obviously, and you might have another one once you get closer to Dove. Your fighting skills are decent, you have a good sense of justice, you’re brave, determined...” The hero paused in front of Dylan and peered at him from under his cloak. He gasped and snapped his fingers. “You’re reckless! That’s what you have issues with!”

Dylan’s joy was slightly dampened when he remembered why he was here. “Dude, I’m a little busy having a heartwarming reunion with the dragon I thought was dead. Can’t you wait?”

“Nope!” The hero drifted over to Dylan and rested his elbow on his shoulder. “I’m supposed to give you guidance, remember? Didn’t Jorel and Jordon tell you this?”

Dylan sighed, but he waved for the hero to continue speaking. “Fine. Lecture me.”

“You ain’t used to talking about yourself,” the hero said. “I get that, man. Feelings suck. But you really shouldn’t suppress them as much as you do, because then you ignore what your heart tells you to do, man. You focus too hard on doing other stuff because you don’t think about your feelings, and that’s why you’re so reckless. You would rather put yourself in danger than actually acknowledge what’s going on in your head.” He raised his hand and tapped the side of Dylan’s head. “You don’t have to suppress your emotions. You’re allowed to speak your mind.”

Dylan snorted and kept scratching Grenade behind the horns. “So you’re just telling me that I should stop running headfirst into danger?”

The hero shrugged. “More or less.”

Grenade nuzzled into Dylan’s shoulder, and Dylan sighed. “I guess you’re right. Is that it?”

The hero cocked his head. “You understand that you’re reckless and it can put you and others in danger?”

Dylan nodded. “Yes.”

“And that you don’t have to feel ashamed when talking about your problems?”

“Yep.”

The hero spread his hands. “As long as you remember that, I think that’s all the guidance I have to give you. I just don’t want you to go down the same path I did. I was pretty damn reckless, and I died here trying to protect the Jailer.” He scoffed. “I shoulda known she could protect herself. I was her companion, but of course, I didn’t listen to her.” He shook his head. “Even when I got stuck in the Smoky Sands once, I didn’t let anyone come near me to help. I was so focused on protecting the Underground that I didn’t want to think about anything else.” He stood back and patted Dylan on the shoulder. “Just don’t let your feelings overwhelm you too much, and make sure you’ve got someone to hold you back so you don’t go running blindly into danger.”

Dylan didn’t exactly like that the hero was criticizing him. He just wanted to take down the dragon rider. What was so bad about that?

But he figured that this was how Jorel and Jordon must have felt when they spoke to the other two heroes. They were just trying to help. “Anything else I need to know, or is that the end of our guidance counseling?” he asked.

The hero hesitated, then shook his head. “Not quite. There... there is more.” He cleared his throat. “I was the Jailer’s companion. I can feel her pain. She... probably won’t last. She was scratched by one of that rider’s dragons yesterday morning. It’s been too long. Maybe she would have been fine if someone had found her right away, but...” He took a deep breath. “If she’s gone, you’ll have to protect the last two Great Dragons. Go to the Land of the Dead and find the Imperial. With both Monarch and the Imperial, you should be able to defeat your dragon rider, even if his dragon does replace the Jailer.”

Dylan nodded. A question rose up in his mind as he pet Grenade’s feathers. “We will, but first, do you know why the rider was collecting things from different places in Angeles? He got a twig from the Grove of Loss, a rock from Bullet’s Edge, and a crystal from the No-Way-Out Caves. What are those for?”

The hero scratched the back of his neck. “Those are pieces from very dangerous magic places. He might be able to harness the magic from those places using those objects, but I don’t know much about it. I was only a companion for a few days before I was chosen to be hero. You might be able to get some information from George and Monarch.”

A loud screech echoed from the hole above Dylan’s head. Rocky dust drifted from the ceiling as the entire cave shook along with the sound. Grenade whimpered and glanced up through the hole.

“She’s almost gone,” the hero whispered, gazing upward at the ceiling. He turned back to Dylan. “Please, protect Monarch and the Imperial with everything you can, but don’t forget about yourself. Don’t rush into danger. Think things through. Stay safe. I have a feeling the dragon rider is going to strike again soon after you reach the Land of the Dead, and you might not be prepared for it when it happens.”

Dylan nodded once, suddenly filled with determination. “I’ll do my best.” He exchanged a glance with Grenade. “You ready, buddy?”

Grenade grunted and nudged Dylan with his nose. Dylan grinned, still overjoyed that his best friend was alive and well. “I’m taking that as a yes.”

He hopped on Grenade’s back. Grenade positioned himself under the hole in the ceiling and spread his wings.

“Good luck,” the hero called.

Dylan shot him a smile before turning back to Grenade. “Let’s go, buddy.”


	32. Execution

Dylan held on as Grenade launched himself out of the cave. His paws slammed down on the sand, and George skittered backwards in surprise.

Danny’s face split into a smile when he saw Dylan on Grenade’s back. “Grenade!”

Grenade squawked in response. Dove heard him and squeaked happily, bounding up to Grenade and nuzzling up to him. Both dragons purred.

Jordon glanced up. “Good to see you, buddy,” he said before turning back to the Jailer’s wound. He and Theresa seemed so focused on healing the Jailer, and Dylan’s heart sank when he remembered that hero in the cave had told him she was close to dead.

He looked up at the Jailer. “Are you going to be okay?” he asked. The hero may have told him she was doomed, but he wanted to know for sure.

Her throat rumbled. She glanced down into the cave Dylan had found Grenade in and whimpered.

“I don’t know how long she’s gonna last,” Danny whispered, gazing at the Jailer with concern. “She’s in a lot of pain.”

The Jailer rested her head on the ground. Her eyes were half-closed and her breathing was shallow. Dylan didn’t take that as a good sign.

Jorel walked up to Dylan and his dragons. Grenade nudged his shoulder, and Jorel scratched Grenade behind the horns. “Did the hero criticize your life choices?” he asked.

Dylan sighed. “Yeah. He was right, though.” He hopped off Grenade’s back. “If the Jailer doesn’t last, we have to go to the Land of the Dead to find the Imperial.”

George furrowed his brow and exchanged a worried glance with Monarch. “I’m not sure how well that would go. The Imperial is pretty territorial.”

They fell silent once again as Jordon and Theresa continued working on the Jailer’s wound. Asia and Randi had stepped away from the group and started speaking in hushed voices, shooting worried glances at the Jailer every now and then. Vanessa and her dragon sat down in the sand with a simultaneous sad sigh. Anna sat next to her, her own dragon twined around her shoulders.

The next few hours were difficult to watch.

The Jailer’s red scales slowly turned grey as time passed. Her breathing became more laboured and shallow, and her hide became less colourful and more dull. Jordon and Theresa’s efforts didn’t seem to be making a change. They sent the other heroes and the girls out for supplies, and every time they returned to the Keep, the Jailer’s condition seemed to get worse and worse. She wheezed when she breathed, and her coughing sent the ground shaking beneath their feet.

Dylan gazed up at the Jailer as Jorel handed a bunch of herbs to Jordon. The greyness had spread from her wound towards her face. She hadn’t roared in pain for hours, and Dylan figured the magic in her body had finally drained all of her strength. She could barely lift her head anymore.

He heard footsteps behind him and turned to see Danny and Lion. Danny stopped next to Dylan, and Lion lied down on the sand next to Dove and Grenade.

Danny bit his lip nervously, staring at the Jailer. “I don’t think she’s gonna make it.”

Dylan shook his head. He didn’t think so either.

“This is what the fucking rider wants to do to every dragon in the world,” Danny whispered.

“We have to stop him,” Dylan muttered. “Next time I see him, I’m punching him in the face.”

Danny snorted. “I’ll help you.”

“Jay!” Jordon shouted. “Run to the nearest town and get me some basil!”

Jorel opened his mouth to yell back, but he paused when the Jailer raised her head and let out a horrible, deafening wail of agony. The ground trembled beneath their feet.

She slumped over and collapsed on the sand. A whine left her throat, and Theresa patted the Jailer’s neck in an attempt at comfort. The colour leeched from her scales.

Jordon had been about to spread some medicinal paste on her wound, but he blinked and stepped away. “I... I don’t think she’s...”

Theresa lowered her mortar and pestle. “We can’t save her.”

George’s shoulders slumped. “That’s it? She’s just gonna die?”

The Jailer growled and tried to raise her head, but she grunted and let it fall to the sand again. Her throat rumbled as the greyness spread across her body.

Danny furrowed his brow. “She doesn’t want this to kill her. She... she wants death to be her own choice.” He turned to look at everyone else. “She wants one of us to finish her off.”

They all fell silent. Tiger whimpered and huddled into Jorel’s cloak. Vanessa’s dragon sidled up to her with a displeased grunt. No one seemed eager to take up the task.

“I hate to say it,” Jorel began, “but George and Jordon’s weapons are probably the only things that could do it quickly.”

George and Jordon exchanged a hesitant glance. Jordon clenched his mortar and pestle tighter and stepped away from the Jailer, biting his lip and staring at the ground. Out of all of them, he seemed the most scared of the idea of killing the Jailer, even if it was to stop her suffering.

“Jordon can’t do it,” George said. “He’s... he’s a healer. This just isn’t something he can do.”

“Then what about you?” Asia asked. “You’re the rider of a Great Dragon. She might trust you to do it the most out of all of us.”

“He shouldn’t do it,” Jordon broke in. “Wouldn’t his sword just contribute to the magic that’s already killing her and make it more painful?”

George shook his head, a dejected look in his eye. “No. I mean, the magic would effect her more, but it would be quick.” He took a deep breath and took a step forward. “Jailer, if you want one of us to end your suffering, I believe my blade—”

“I’ll do it,” Dylan blurted.

Everyone turned to look at him. He wasn’t even sure why he offered. He didn’t want to kill a dragon, but seeing the distraught look on George’s face told him that George wouldn’t be able to go through with it even if he tried.

Jordon gaped at Dylan. “You will?”

Dylan considered his options. He could back down now and let George do it, but the relieved gleam in George’s eyes was enough to convince him. George was the companion of a Great Dragon, and having to kill one would break his heart.

Dylan nodded. “Yeah.” He looked up at the Jailer. “If you’ll let me.”

The Jailer barely had enough energy to look at Dylan. She grunted, her eyes half closed as the greyness slowly spread across her body. Her once shiny green wings were now dull, and the red and brown scales on her body had been drained of all their colour.

Danny placed a hand on Dylan’s shoulder. “Are you sure?” he asked, a pang of concern in his voice. “I can do it if you don’t want to.”

Dylan was mildly tempted to take him up on that offer, but he shook his head. “Nah, I got it.”

“I don’t think your knives will be able to do it,” Anna pointed out.

Dylan walked up to George and held out his hand. “May I use your sword?”

George hesitated. He looked at Monarch, who grunted and nodded once. George sighed and drew his blade. He held it out to Dylan, the point aimed at the ground. “Be careful with it,” George said firmly. “Don’t drop it.”

Dylan nodded, swallowing back his anxiety. He reached out and took the hilt of the blade. It felt odd in his palm, as if the grip was moulded specifically for George’s hand. It was a little heavier than Dylan expected, but he managed to carry it just fine. He looked up at George, a little hesitant to be using such an unfamiliar weapon, but he had to if he was going to do this.

He turned to the Jailer, the sword clutched in both hands. “Uh... may I?”

The Jailer’s throat rumbled. He took that as yes and slowly approached. He paused in front of her, unsure if he could even get onto the Jailer’s head without help.

He heard a squeak and glanced back. Grenade stood behind him, his head cocked to the side. He lowered his head to the ground and grunted. Dylan understood immediately. He gently placed a foot on Grenade’s forehead and Grenade launched him upwards, using the same tactic they often used to get into windows of houses they were going to rob.

Dylan clambered up onto the Jailer’s snout, George’s blade tucked under his arm to keep it from scratching the Jailer and making her condition worse. He straightened and stared down at the bright red eyes of the Jailer. Despite her pain, her eyes shone bright with a fiery anger that made it obvious to Dylan why she was one of the Great Dragons. She wouldn’t let this dragon rider kill her. She would die on her own terms, no matter how long she had to suffer staying alive. She wouldn’t give the rider the satisfaction of dying by his hand.

Dylan took a deep breath and walked across her long snout to her forehead. His heart pounded at the thought of purposely killing a dragon, but he ignored his apprehension and stopped on the Jailer’s forehead. He took the sword from the crook of his arm and held it in both hands.

He glanced back at the others. Monarch no longer stood proudly in the sand. Instead, he had lowered himself down to lay next to George. George didn’t seem to know what to do with his hands without his sword at his belt, fidgeting with the end of his cloak and tapping his leg impatiently. Jordon stood next to him and Viral sat next to Monarch. Danny remained standing with Lion and Dove, and all three stared at Dylan with nervous faces. The girls were all huddled together with their dragons, and Jorel and Tiger had joined them. Everyone seemed to be holding their breath.

Dylan turned back to the Jailer and her fiery red eyes. “Your companion misses you,” he said.

Her throat rumbled in what almost sounded like a purr. Dylan’s stomach flipped as he poised the blade over the Jailer’s forehead. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.

The Jailer shut her eyes. Dylan hesitated, but he squeezed his own eyes shut and steeled his nerves.

He plunged the sword into the Jailer’s forehead, falling to one knee to drive in the blade.

The Jailer grunted at the pain. He opened his eyes to see her red gaze fixed on him. No blood poured from the wound under the blade, but the colour in her scales around it bled away and turned grey. He watched as the greyness washed over her face. It reached her eyes, and her bright red irises faded to a dull grey, almost as if she was turning to stone. The greyness enveloped her completely, and her shoulders slumped as her last breath left her lungs.

Dylan blinked, processing what had just happened. He’d killed a dragon.

He grasped the hilt of the sword with both hands and pulled it from the Jailer’s forehead. Her grey scales cracked as the metal slid out of her hide.

He turned around to look at the others. Monarch pushed himself to his feet and lowered his head into a bow towards the Jailer. George did the same, and all five girls and their dragons followed suit. The other three knelt as well. Dylan couldn’t but feel a little intimidated at the sight of everyone kneeling around him, so he clutched the sword in both hands and carefully slid off the Jailer.

He walked up to George and held out the blade. George wordlessly stood and took it from his hands, returning it to its sheath at his hip.

No one spoke for a few seconds. Grenade tromped up to Dylan and licked at his hand. Dylan scratched Grenade behind the horns as Dove whined and nudged his other hand.

Dylan took a deep breath and looked up at everyone else. “Let’s go find the Imperial.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> does anyone else just really love Empire?? it took me a bit to get used to the autotune but i think it sort of adds to the overall sound of the song, and the music video was actually comprehensible this time. also, that one lady in the video??? extremely hot. her and Danny made me even more bisexual than i already am


	33. Day Of The Dead

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i've been writing so much lately, i have quite a few extra chapters, so i figured i'd post one today. also, i made a very small mistake with the designs of one of the dragons (the last dragon's eyes were supposed to be purple, not orange), so i fixed it and reposted it on tumblr, minus the picture of the Jailer. i might as well put the link here, since the first dragon shows up in this chapter and the other one shows up in the next. anyway, enjoy the early update!
> 
> [here they are](https://tiredauthor.tumblr.com/post/190216398034/making-another-post-w-the-dragons-for-my-fic-bc-i)

Anna straightened the bag she’d slung over Dylan’s shoulder. “And you’re sure you guys have everything you’ll need?”

Dylan nodded, a little flattered at her concern. “We’ll be fine. We’re heroes, remember?”

Anna sighed and stepped back. “I know, I know. But you’re also the only heroes Angeles has. If something happens to you, we’re all fucked.”

Dylan scratched Grenade on the head and watched as the other four girls all fussed over the heroes. Vanessa and Theresa had flown to the nearest town, both to inform the residents of the Jailer’s death and to pick up a few things for the heroes. All five of the ladies seemed particularly concerned about the heroes succeeding in their mission to take down the dragon rider, and Dylan could see why. One of the Great Dragons was dead, and now they had to protect the two that remained.

Dylan found it difficult to keep his gaze off the stone grey corpse of the Jailer lying in the sand. Cracks snaked across her hide as if she was a statue crumbling to dust. It almost felt wrong to be in the Jailer’s Keep when she wasn’t alive.

“You coming?”

Dylan turned to look at George, who had clambered up onto Monarch’s back and took the reins in his hands. Jorel had hopped up after him, and Lion sat on Viral’s back, waiting for her companion to join her.

Dylan gave Anna a grateful smile. “Thanks for all your help.”

Anna smiled back. “Anything for the heroes of Angeles.”

Dylan turned away, clutching the strap of the new bag on his shoulder. Dove and Grenade plodded after him as they walked up to Monarch.

Theresa gave Lion a scratch on the head as Louie fluttered around her head. “If you guys need anything, feel free to come back anytime,” she said to Danny, who was desperately trying to keep his face from turning red. Theresa was really pretty, and she was the first girl he’d seen in twenty years. He didn’t know how to act around women. Should he say something?

“Thanks,” he managed finally. “I... uh, we’ll definitely try to come back sometime.” He cleared his throat, trying to keep his composure. “Thank you for all your help, Theresa.”

Theresa smiled at him, and Danny didn’t need a mirror to know that his efforts to keep himself from blushing had failed. “Call me Reese,” she said with a grin.

She glanced at the ground as if she was thinking, then stepped towards him and stood on her tiptoes. She planted a kiss on his cheek, and Danny felt as if his heart stopped as she stepped away and smiled, a faint rosy flush on her cheeks.

“Just for luck,” she said. She turned away and skipped over to the other ladies. Asia smirked and nudged Reese with her elbow, and Reese smacked Asia’s arm in response.

Someone poked Danny’s shoulder and he glanced back to see Jordon smirking at him. “She likes you,” he said.

Danny’s face heated up. He started towards Viral, brushing past Jordon without a word.

Jordon turned from the two, the grin slipping off his face as his gaze connected with the sight of the Jailer’s body. He wouldn’t have been able to stand killing the Jailer when he’d already taken so many lives. Some part of Jordon thought that maybe he was a bad person for not taking on that responsibility, but he shook off the thought. None of them had wanted to kill a dragon. If he was a bad person for turning it down, then everyone else was just as bad.

He heard footsteps and turned his head. George walked up to Jordon and stopped next to him. His hand rested on the hilt of his sword, like usual, but now he was clenching it as if he was preparing himself for a fight.

“Hey,” Jordon said.

George nodded in greeting. He looked up at the Jailer. “We really have to thank Dylan for doing that,” he said.

Jordon sighed. “Yeah. I don’t think I could have gone through with it.”

George bit his lip, deep in thought. “I think we should all have a talk while we’re flying,” he said finally. “We need to start figuring some shit out. The nightmares we all had before we met, the bag of things the rider dropped in the Smoky Sands, what the correlation might be between all of it— we have to start thinking about what it might mean for us and the future of Angeles.”

Jordon nodded. “Yeah.” He glanced back at the others. “We should probably get going.”

“See you in the sky,” George said. He turned and made his way back over to Monarch.

Jordon waved at Randi, who was still huddled with the other four girls. She smiled at him and waved back, and his stomach flipped at the sight. Maybe he shouldn’t have been making of Danny for being shy around girls. He wasn’t much better.

He hopped onto Viral’s back, and both Monarch and Viral spread their wings, ready to take off. “Will you be able to get back to the mainland on your own?” George called out.

“We’ll be fine!” Asia shouted. “Go save the world!”

George flicked Monarch’s reins. Monarch launched into the air, sending a cloud of sand up as his wings blew a gust of wind across the ground. Viral leaped after him with a startled squeak.

Danny stared down at the ground as they soared into the sky. He watched as the girls got smaller and farther away, and he only turned back to the sky when the shape of the Jailer’s body became a blip in the distance.

As soon as they had left the Underground behind, George directed Monarch lower to fly next to Viral. “Danny, you still got that bag that the rider dropped?” George shouted.

Danny rummaged through his bag and pulled out the tiny cloth bag that they’d found in the Smoky Sands. He tugged on the drawstring, and a tiny cloud of darkness wafted form the opening.

“Yeah,” he said.

“The hero in the cave told me that you might know more about it,” Dylan told George.

George shifted his gaze from the sky in front of him to the bag in Danny’s hand. “I’m not a hundred percent sure,” he admitted. “I’ve heard of people using objects from magical places in Angeles to make themselves more powerful, but I never knew what places they had to come from.”

“I guess the rider knows,” Danny said, taking the twig from the Grove of Loss out of the bag. He furrowed his brow. “Hey, Dylan? When we were in the No-Way-Out Caves, didn’t he say something to his dragon about getting stuff from the Restless Spire and God’s Vision?”

Dylan shrugged. “Maybe. All I remember from the Caves is the stuff I saw in my nightmare before we all met.”

“What’s the deal with the dreams, anyway?” Jorel asked as he scratched Tiger on the head. “Why did we all have them, and why do we only remember them at certain points?”

“Setting a basis for character development?” Dylan suggested.

The others shot him a variety of confused looks. “I don’t think that’s it,” George said. He turned to look at Danny. “Danny, when I took you guys to our Keep, you said something about dreams sometimes being warnings. Do you think that’s what these are?”

Danny glanced around. Each companion and their dragons had their gaze trained on him. He coughed into his fist, a little nervous being suddenly put on the spot like this. “I don’t know,” he said finally. “I mean, it could be. But I’ve read that they could also be messages from old spirits and stuff like that. I’ve just never heard about anyone having one of those dreams and then forgetting about it until the exact same thing from the dream happens in real life. I... honestly have no idea what these nightmares could mean.”

Dylan pet Grenade’s feathers, staring at the small cloth bag. “Well, so far, we all had dreams that happened in the places the rider is taking these things from. Maybe they _are_ warnings.”

“But for what?” Jordon asked. “What are they warning us about?”

Danny tapped his finger on one of Viral’s ridges. “I think they’re warning us to stay away from those places. Every time we go to one of them, something bad happens. Jorel and Jordon almost died. Dylan might have, too, if he’d gone into the Caves alone.”

George furrowed his brow. “Or they could be telling us where the rider’s going so we can stop him before he does some serious damage?” He sighed. “I have no idea. Either way, we have to find him before he gets to the Imperial.”

“Danny, can you tell us about the Land of the Dead?” Jorel asked. “See if the Restless Spire or God’s Vision is on your list of places.”

Danny reached into his bag and pulled out his book. He flipped it open, scanning the pages for the section that talked about the Land of the Dead. He stopped on the page and scrolled through the list of places. He blinked at the first thing on the list and read it over to make sure he hadn’t misread.

“The first thing on the list is the Imperial’s Keep,” he said. “It’s surrounded by buildings that the people from a thousand years ago called Pity City.” He looked up at George. “How did the people manage to build a city around the Imperial’s Keep?”

George shrugged. “Maybe the Imperial thought they were friendly. Who knows?”

Danny pressed his lips into a thin line. He didn’t have a good feeling about the Land of the Dead. He tried to ignore his instincts, and instead continued on with the list.

“The Rolling Valley is near the north edge of the island, and the Holy Ghost Hills are right around the Keep,” Danny said. “The Battleground of the War Children is where most of the humans from a thousand years ago died, so I don’t think we should go there. We might be risking another undead zombie attack if we do.”

All five of them shuddered as they remembered the horrible undead soldiers they’d fought in the Undead Chasm.

“There’s the Caves of Dark Places,” Danny added. “And—” He paused as his gaze slid over the next name on the list. “The Restless Spire and Reckless Tower.” He bit his lip. “We should probably stay away from there.”

“If the rider’s going there, we have to follow him,” Jordon protested. “If getting some kind of object from that place is going to make him more powerful, we have to make sure he doesn’t get there.”

Danny shook his head, his anxiety about the situation skyrocketing immediately. “I just don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“What other places we got, homie?” Dylan asked.

Danny turned back to his book. “Gravity Cliffs, Shallow Man’s Peak—”

“And we’re not going to either of those!” Jorel butted in. “No heights!”

Danny ignored him. “There’s the Chasm of Disease and the Death Zone, which are both near the south edge. The Forever Trail leads to the Living Shadow, and the Wisecrack Fields are in the east. The Broken Heavens seem safe enough, I guess, but we should avoid the River of Tainted Love. Ghost’s Cave doesn’t seem safe either. The Singing Forest seems okay, but the Bleached Temple is in there, and that’s dangerous too, apparently.”

“Well, now we know where we can’t go,” Jorel said. “Any of these places actually safe, or is the whole island a death trap?”

“Guess we’ll ask the Imperial,” Dylan muttered. He leaned against Grenade with a sigh, running his hand through his dragon’s feathers.

Danny glanced over Viral’s side at the sea below. “Guess so.”

* * *

It barely took an hour to reach the Land of the Dead, which only made Danny more nervous. He didn’t want to go off on another big trip to another possibly dangerous place right away, but he didn’t exactly have a choice. He was a hero, and that meant he had to go where the other heroes went.

He caught sight of land ahead of them and steeled his nerves for another big adventure. Monarch lowered himself onto the grassy land on the shoreline, and Viral stumbled as he ran to a stop next to him.

Jordon patted Viral on the neck. “Nice landing, buddy.” He lowered his goggles over his eyes and scanned the land around them. “I ain’t seeing any Imperials, man.”

Danny hopped off Viral’s back, and Lion followed. A few dragons had settled in the field, and most of them lifted their heads to stare at Monarch. A few launched into the air and soared away, but the rest just lied back down in the grass.

Dylan and Jorel slid off Monarch’s back together. Dove and Grenade leaped down after them. “The Keep is near the middle of the island, right?” Dylan asked.

Danny nodded. He thumbed through his book and glanced at his map to make sure he was right. “Pity City. Right in the middle.”

Monarch’s throat rumbled, and George tightened his grip on the reins. “I don’t have a good feeling about this,” he muttered.

Danny mirrored George’s cautious feelings. He didn’t think the Imperial would take too kindly to having such a large intruder on its land.

Viral trotted further into the field, Jordon still on his back. “Doesn’t seem too bad to me,” Jordon said. He twisted the knob on his goggles and gazed around. “Look at all these dragons. You think—?”

He was interrupted when a horrible screech rang through the air. Everyone looked up at the sky where it seemed to have come from, and a shape darted through the clouds and zipped towards Viral in a blur. Jordon shrieked and toppled off Viral’s back, landing on the ground with a thud as the blurry shape shot back into the clouds.

George slid off Monarch and rushed towards Jordon. “Are you okay?”

Jordon sat up, clutching his arm. Blood leaked out from between his fingers. “Fuck,” he whispered.

George unsheathed his blade and hefted his shield, and the other heroes all hopped off their dragons to draw their own weapons. Viral stepped in front of Jordon and glared at the sky, growling defensively. The dragons and their companions kept their eyes on the clouds, ready to strike at a moment’s notice.

The shape zipped from the clouds and made a beeline for the group. Danny raised his crossbow and fired, but the shape was too fast. It clipped Jorel and he stumbled back. Blood gushed from a fresh wound in his shoulder and he hissed in pain. The shape made a U-turn and shot towards them again, but George leaped in front of the others and raised his shield. The shape slammed into him and bounced off the metal, collapsing to the ground with a yelp.

The heroes all gathered together to see what had attacked them. It was a dragon almost twice Lion’s size. Its hide was mostly white, dappled with stripes of grey. Its wings were a brownish shade of orange, and lighter orange whorls decorated its scales, making its wings look almost like cooling lava. Red spikes trailed down its back, and the crest under its neck was the same shade as its wings. Fangs poked over its upper lip and down over its jaw. Four tiny horns stuck out of each side of its head, and when it scrambled to its feet and blinked at them, they saw that its eyes were a dark shade of purple.

Growling, it skittered away from them and bared its overgrown fangs. It spread its wings in an attempt at intimidation.

Danny slung his crossbow onto his back. He may not have been good with people, but scared dragons were something he was familiar with.

He took a step away from the group and held up his hands to show the dragon he was unarmed. “Hey, it’s okay. We’re not gonna hurt you.”

“Careful, homie,” Dylan warned. “That’s a shadow dragon. They’re fast as hell.”

Danny mentally took note of his warning and prepared himself to run in case the dragon bolted for them. He took another cautious step forward, and the dragon backed away with a defensive screech. It narrowed its purple eyes at him and reared up on its hind legs, a growl rumbling deep in its throat.

Danny stopped in his tracks and held up a hand. He’d seen dragons like this before, and he was pretty sure this one was female, which meant she would be a lot more aggressive if she decided to attack. He desperately hoped she wouldn’t lunge for them.

“It’s okay, girl,” he said softly. “My name is Danny. I won’t hurt you.”

The dragon shot a suspicious glance at Dylan and Jordon. Her gaze flickered to Grenade, Viral, and Dove, and then back to Dylan and Jordon. She let out a quiet squawk and stepped backwards, and her nose twitched as if she smelled something bad.

Danny got the message immediately. _There’s dragon blood on your hands._

He stepped in front of Dylan and Jordon so the dragon couldn’t see them. “It’s okay,” he repeated. “They won’t hurt you, either. Jordon’s a healer, and he’s lost a few dragons in the past. The blood is old.” He hesitated and shot a glance behind him at Dylan. “As for Dylan, we had no other choice. The Jailer was suffering. She asked us to put her out of her misery, and Dylan volunteered.”

Danny swallowed, waiting as the dragon peered over Danny’s shoulder to examine Jordon and Dylan. He wasn’t sure how this dragon could smell the blood on their hands. He thought that was only a Great Dragon thing. The thought crossed his mind that this little thing could be the Imperial, but he pushed that out of his mind. The Great Dragons were much bigger than this. Besides, Monarch definitely would have said something by now if this was, in fact, the third Great Dragon.

The dragon huffed, but she lowered herself back to all fours. She approached Danny and pressed her nose against his palm in a sign of trust. He patted her snout, relieved that he’d managed to keep her from attacking them again.

She stepped away and stared down at Danny. She cocked her head to the side, an expression of confusion. _Why are you here?_ she seemed to be asking.

“We’re here to meet the Imperial,” Danny said. “It’s a long story, but there’s a dragon rider running around killing dragons, and he managed to poison the Jailer with some kind of magic. We need to warn the Imperial, and hopefully they’ll help us with this rider.”

The dragon seemed to perk up at the mention of the Imperial. She bounced a little on her feet and squeaked happily. She flicked her tail towards herself, the dragon version of pointing. Then she spun in a circle, which was the dragon way of saying “partner”, then nodded towards Monarch and puffed out her chest, the frilled crest below her neck displaying itself proudly.

It took Danny a moment to string her words together. His eyes widened a little when he figured it out. “You’re the Imperial’s mate.”

The dragon squeaked and hopped back and forth between her left and right feet. Danny turned back to the others, who had all lowered their weapons. “I think she wants to take us to the Imperial.”

The dragon bobbed her head once. She spread her wings and stared at the heroes and their dragons expectantly.

Jordon clutched his bleeding arm. “Sure. Just give me a minute to patch this up.”

George sheathed his blade. He exchanged a glance with Monarch, who was staring down at the dragon with an incredulous look. “Monarch? What do you think?”

Monarch snorted. _Very small mate. Cute, though. We should adopt her._

George rolled his eyes. “For the last god damn time, we are not adopting any more dragons.”

Monarch huffed. _Killjoy._

George turned to the white and orange dragon. “Do you think your mate will accept us in their territory?”

The dragon stopped hopping on her feet. She stared at the ground for a moment, then shrugged.

George didn’t like that answer. He didn’t want to end up dealing with an angry Great Dragon. However, he hoped the Imperial would let them in without too much trouble.

He sighed. “Alright. Let’s go meet the Imperial.”


	34. Usual Suspects

As they flew towards the Imperial’s Keep, Danny was nervous, to say the least.

The flight to the Keep took much longer than the flight to the Land of the Dead had, and Danny wasn’t sure whether that made his anxiety better or worse. He wanted to just meet the Imperial and get it over with, but at the same time, he wanted to put it off as long as possible. He just couldn’t shake off the idea that they could be flying right into a battle.

The dragon they’d met flew ahead of them, acting as their guide towards her mate’s Keep. Danny kept his gaze on the ground to distract himself, leaning over Viral’s side to see the hundreds of dragons below that called the Land of the Dead their home. Seeing all the happy dragons around lifted his spirits a little, but a couple hours later, he was jerked out of his thoughts when Jordon snapped his fingers in Danny’s face.

Danny yelped and looked up at Jordon, who was staring at Danny with an expectant look on his face. “What?” Danny asked.

“I asked if you were okay, like, five times,” Jordon said. “You seem super tense, man.”

Danny realized that he’d tensed his shoulders almost up to his ears and forced himself to relax. “I’m fine. Just a little jumpy.”

Jordon studied his face for a moment. “You’re not a good liar,” he muttered. He turned back around to face the sky ahead of them, leaving Danny in confusion.

The dragon ahead of them turned its head and squawked. “We’re almost there,” Danny translated.

George furrowed his brow and tightened his grip on Monarch’s reins. “I know. I can feel it. The Imperial’s not happy.” He paused. “I sense something, too. Not sure what it is.”

Jorel nodded. “I feel it, too.”

Jordon blinked. “I don’t know if it’s still just my hangover, but my head is really buzzy.”

“You’re probably sensing something, buddy,” George said. “It’s a hero thing.”

The dragon dipped below the clouds, and Monarch dived after it. Danny clutched one of Viral’s ridges as Viral lunged down with them.

Danny kept his eyes on the ground as they descended. A few ruined buildings came into sight and Danny focused on them, trying to ease the worries in his head. The buildings were all incredibly old, some on the verge of collapsing. Cracks snaked through the stone of each column, and he spotted the remains of an archway scattered over a ruined temple.

Then he saw the dragon.

The Imperial was still far ahead of them, but even from this distance, he could see that it was just as big as Monarch, if not bigger. Its transparent yellow wings were folded to its sides, covering up some of the white stripes on its lilac scales. A line of yellow fur trailed down its spine, which ended in a tuft on the tip of its tail. White spines similar to Monarch’s stuck out of the fur on its back. Two large deer-like antlers protruded from its head.

The Imperial was lying down, but it raised its head as Monarch and Viral swooped down towards it. Danny felt a shiver go up his spine at its dark gaze.

The dragon in front of them squeaked and shot forward in a blur. She reappeared as a distant shape fluttering around the Imperial’s face. A rumble echoed through the air, and Danny realized the Imperial was purring.

Danny steeled his nerves as Monarch and Viral landed among the ruins. The Imperial narrowed its dark purple eyes at them as its mate settled on the ground in front of it.

“Who’s there?”

Danny almost jumped out of his skin at the sound of the voice. He stared up at the Imperial, wondering if that’s who had spoken, but the Imperial simply huffed at them. It raised its head, glaring at Monarch expectantly.

Monarch and George exchanged a concerned glance, but George slid off his dragon’s back and knelt on the ground. Monarch followed suit, bowing his head at the Imperial.

The Imperial glared at them. A dangerous tension buzzed in the air, as if a lit bomb was sitting right in front of them. The Jailer had been intimidating, but at least she had accepted them into her territory. This Great Dragon definitely wasn’t pleased to have visitors.

A snarl rolled from the Imperial’s lips. Monarch and George stayed where they were, but George’s shoulders tensed.

“Imperial, please, I ask you to listen,” he said. “We are here to warn you of a threat that has come to Angeles. If you would allow us to explain, we will gladly leave afterward if that’s what you wish.”

The Imperial’s violet eyes narrowed further. It looked Monarch up and down, then turned its gaze to Dylan. It growled, but it nodded once.

George and Monarch visibly relaxed. “Thank you for your hospitality,” George said. He stood up and Monarch straightened. The Imperial raised its head proudly, and Monarch kept his bowed with a quiet whimper.

The Imperial shifted where it lay, and it slowly raised one of its wings. All five heroes grabbed for their weapons when they saw what had been hidden by the dragon’s wing.

A person stood next to the Imperial. A white cloak was draped over his shoulders, the hood pulled over his head. A strip of cloth covered the lower half of his face. The thought popped into Danny’s head that this might be the dragon rider they were searching for. He didn’t have the goggles, but still. His cold blue gaze pierced through each of them, and every instinct in Danny’s body screamed “danger!”

The man held a bow in one hand. He reached into the quiver on his back and nocked an arrow, aiming directly at George. “Name and business,” he growled, his voice raspy through the cloth.

George shot a worried look at Jordon, but he cleared his throat. “George Ragan, the rider of the Guardian. We’re here because there is a dangerous dragon rider in Angeles who is trying to eradicate all of dragonkind. We came to warn the Imperial of this threat.”

The man looked George up and down. His cold eyes narrowed as his gaze flickered over Dylan. “The blood of the Jailer is on your hands,” he croaked in his hoarse voice.

“He didn’t want to kill the Jailer,” George assured the man. “The dragon rider we’re chasing poisoned the Jailer, and she requested that one of us put her out of her misery. Dylan volunteered.”

The dragon that had led them there squeaked. The man glanced at her, then back at the five heroes. He fixed his icy glare on George.

He lowered his bow and started forward. Danny’s grip tightened on his crossbow, but the man shot a glare at him, and Danny’s insides twisted. He lowered his crossbow and stepped away.

The man stopped in front of George. He kept his bow pointed towards the ground, but his bright gaze was piercing enough that he didn’t need his arrows. Danny’s heart pounded in his chest, waiting for the man to strike.

The man studied George for a moment. George kept his gaze on the ground, as if he was afraid to look into the man’s eyes.

“Never thought I could make a hero nervous,” the man muttered. A chuckle escaped his lips, and smile lines crinkled around his eyes. His icy gaze melted into something warm and friendly as he took the arrow from his bow and shoved it back into his quiver.

George visibly relaxed. The man slung his bow onto his back and lowered his hood. A mane of incredibly curly black hair poofed out from the cloak.

Jordon gasped softly. “Whoa.”

“Hair,” Dylan whispered.

The man tugged the cloth off his face, revealing a friendly smile. He held out a hand. “Matthew Busek,” he said. “Call me Matt.”

George reached out and shook his hand, but a static shock jolted through his fingers as soon as their skin connected. He snatched his hand away. Matt did the same.

George’s gaze snapped up to look Matt in the eye. “You’re the last hero,” he whispered.

Matt stared at George for a moment. His eyes widened in realization. “You chose me,” he said quietly. “I... I never thought...” Matt looked from George to Monarch, his mouth hanging open a little in shock. Then he cleared his throat. “Well, I guess some introductions are in order, then,” he said in his hoarse voice. He stepped back and gestured up to the Imperial, who was still trying to stare down Monarch. “This is the Imperial, Saint.” He waved a hand at the dragon that had let them there. “And her mate, Claire.”

Jordon gasped. “Lesbian dragons!” He turned to look at Viral. “Viral, look! It’s your people!” He paused. “Well, sort of.”

Viral looked up at the Imperial. She turned her attention from Monarch to him. Her gaze travelled up and down Viral, examining him thoroughly. Her lips curled back in a snarl and Viral lowered his gaze.

Matt ignored Jordon’s excited realization. “And I’m Matt, the rider of both the Imperial and her mate,” Matt said. He gestured to George. “George Ragan, obviously.” He gaze travelled upward to Monarch. “And...?”

“The Guardian,” George said, “Monarch.” He waved toward the others. “This is Jordon Terrell, a healer, and his dragon, Viral. That’s Dove and Grenade and their keeper, Dylan Alvarez. Jorel Decker, a handler, and Tiger, and way over on the end there are Lion and her tamer, Danny Murillo.”

The others all waved in greeting, but Danny just tightened his grip on his crossbow. What if this guy really was the dragon rider they were chasing? Even if he wasn’t, they barely knew him. He could be dangerous.

“Make yourselves at home,” Matt said, his smile making its way back onto his face. “I’ve fixed up a couple houses in the ruins, so if you want, we can go sit down and you can explain all about this dragon rider.”

Jorel shrugged. “Sounds good to me.”

George nodded. “Me too.” He glanced up at Monarch. “Unless they’ve got Guardian-sized houses, you might have to stay out here.”

Saint narrowed her dark eyes at Monarch. Her razor-sharp teeth glinted in the sun. Danny got the feeling that the only thing keeping her from snapping Monarch’s head off was the fact that her rider had taken a liking to his. Monarch shuffled his feet and kept his head low, like a dog that had just been scolded.

“You too, buddy,” Jordon added to Viral. He patted Viral’s neck. “Sorry.”

Viral nudged Jordon with his nose. He didn’t seem to mind staying out here.

Matt waved for the five heroes to follow him as he started towards the ruins. “Follow me. I’d like to hear more about this dragon rider that’s messing with Angeles.”

The other four followed him. They all seemed perfectly fine with following this stranger into a bunch of ruins.

Danny, however, did not want to sit down and chat with this guy. He was a dragon rider, which made Danny think that he was the rider they were chasing. Plus, he just came up out of nowhere, right next to the Great Dragon that their evil rider was supposedly going after. George never said anything about a guy named Matthew Busek being the seventh hero. How did George know this was the same guy he’d chosen? Besides, this guy totally bailed on Sunset Island. He might have already known he was going to be a hero and left like Aron had.

But everyone else was walking towards the ruins, their dragons in tow. Lion nudged Danny and grunted, telling him to go with the others.

He took a deep breath and started after the others. He kept his crossbow in his hands, just in case.

Jordon stayed close to George as they walked. He glanced back at the others. Dylan kept one hand on Grenade’s flank, as if afraid that his dragon would disappear if he didn’t make sure he was still there. Jorel seemed okay, but one of his hands rested on a throwing axe at his belt.

As for Danny, he looked like he was preparing for a fight. His knuckles were white on his crossbow. His brow furrowed with worry, he glanced from Saint to Claire to Matt, and Jordon knew that Danny suspected Matt of being the dragon rider they were chasing.

Jordon fell into step next to Danny as the group walked to the ruins. “Hey man.”

Danny’s gaze turned to Jordon for a brief moment before returning to Matt. “Hey.”

“You good?” Jordon asked. “You seem really nervous.”

Danny shrugged. He didn’t take his eyes away from Matt. “Just a little suspicious, I guess.”

“I can’t blame you,” Jordon said. “I mean, we’ve gotta be careful. But this is a rider of a Great Dragon. I doubt he would be set on causing a dragon genocide.”

Danny narrowed his eyes at Matt. “I just don’t trust him.”

Jordon knew he wouldn’t be able to convince Danny that Matt wasn’t the dragon rider they were after. Danny did have a point; it was a little suspicious that Matt had just shown up out of nowhere next to a Great Dragon, and the guy was a dragon rider. But Jordon was positive that they would have noticed the guy’s hair before if he really was the dragon rider. Seriously, how did he get it that curly? Was that natural, or did he have some kind of hair product?

Matt hopped over a short stone fence as they reached the ruins. “So, what brings you guys to the Land of the Dead?” he asked. Jordon absently wondered how this guy’s voice was so hoarse.

“Like I said earlier,” George began, stepping over the fence after Matt, “this dragon rider poisoned the Jailer, and we came here to warn the Imperial that he might try to come for her next.”

“The ghost I talked to also told me to ask for your help,” Dylan added. He followed the other two over the fence before turning around to help Jorel over. “I mean, he didn’t tell me the Imperial had a rider, but he said that two Great Dragons should be able to take this guy down.”

Matt nodded, staring thoughtfully into the distance as they passed under a crumbling archway. “Probably. The power of two Great Dragons would be a lot to go up against. But if Saint doesn’t like Monarch, then there’s not much I can do to get her to help you. She’s stubborn and territorial. She doesn’t like that you guys came here without a warning. She told me a big intruder set foot on our land, and she really doesn’t like intruders. You should have seen what happened to the last people who came here.” He shrugged. “You don’t seem too bad, though. I’d help you, and Claire probably will too. It’s just a matter of convincing Saint.”

He slowed to a stop as they approached a large stone house. “Here we are. Home sweet home.”

Jordon stared up at the large structure. It wasn’t exactly a mansion, but it was certainly bigger than most houses he’d seen. Unlike the other buildings around them, this one was devoid of cracks. A small flowerbed bloomed at the edge of the house. As he watched, a small pair of dragons with wings too large for their bodies fluttered away from the flowers and lifted into the sky.

Matt walked up to the door, and everyone else followed. Danny hesitated, then finally slung his crossbow on his back. Having a weapon drawn indoors would just be rude.

Matt opened the door, and Claire trotted through the wide doorway. He held the door open. “Come on in.”

George was the first to enter, feeling obligated to do so since he was technically the leader of the group. Jorel followed close behind him with Tiger, and Dylan was right on his heels with Dove and Grenade.

Jordon waved for Danny to go in before him. “After you.”

Danny glanced from Jordon to Matt, then heaved a sigh and trudged up to the door with Lion. Jordon strolled after him. He shot a polite smile at Matt as he entered the house.

They emerged in a wide open room that seemed to take up most of the lower floor. Part of it was done up like a lounge, with a couple couches at the far wall. To their right was a sort of kitchen with a fire stove and a table, along with a few wooden cupboards in the wall. A staircase leading up rested in the left wall, along with a few doors. Most of the room was empty. It was easy to see why. Claire’s wingspan was wide enough to take up half the room, and any furniture in her way would either get knocked over or trampled.

Matt waved towards the couches as he made his way over to the small kitchen. “Have a seat if you want. Anyone hungry?”

George shook his head. “No, we’re fine.” He hesitantly sat down on one of the couches.

Matt shrugged and moved away from the kitchen. “Suit yourselves.” He sat down on the couch across from George as everyone else took a seat. Danny sat in the only armchair, furthest away from Matt at the edge of the group.

Jordon took his place right next to George. Dove, Grenade, and Lion all lied down at the feet of their companions, and Claire followed suit. Matt leaned forward and scratched her on the head, his gaze fixed on George. “So. Mind telling me more about this dragon rider?”

George took a deep breath. “Well, it started a little over a week ago...”

They all listened as George quickly told their story. He told Matt about how he and Monarch had woken up from their thousand-year sleep in order to find the other heroes so they could all protect Angeles from an incoming threat. He told Matt about the dragon rider attacking the Guardian’s Keep and how the five of them chased the rider around Angeles for the past week. The others occasionally interrupted to fill in some details, but they left out a few things that they figured were best left unsaid. Jorel and Aron’s past was unmentioned, as was Jorel’s experience in the Grove of Loss. Jordon’s walk through Bullet’s Edge and his late night talk with George weren’t brought up either, which Jordon was thankful for. Neither Danny nor Dylan said anything about Dylan’s grief-stricken episodes in the No-Way-Out Caves or the Smoky Sands. None of them needed to dump their emotional problems onto this dragon rider they just met.

“And now we’re here,” George finished. “The dragon rider is coming after the Great Dragons so he can make his own dragon more powerful and use it to get rid of all dragons. That’s why we came here to warn the Imperial.”

Matt furrowed his brow as George finished the story, still scratching Claire on the head. “That’s one hell of a story,” he muttered. He glanced down at Claire, who looked up at him and grunted.

He leaned back in his seat and tapped his foot against the ground. “We’ll help you,” he decided. “I mean, Claire and I will. Saint is going to be a lot harder to convince, but we’ll do our best.”

George breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you. Even if the Imperial decides not to help, six heroes are better than five.”

Matt nodded, a smile spreading across his face. “Glad to be part of the team.”

Jordon tapped his finger against his leg. “So, where do we go from here? Should we stay here and wait for the dragon rider to attack? Should we try to find out where he is and attack him first?”

“Find him,” George said. “We have to be one step ahead of him at all times now that he’s getting more powerful. He won’t be expecting us to find him.”

Matt stood up. “Even if she won’t help, Saint should be able to sense if someone that powerful is on our land. She’ll tell us where he is. Hopefully.”

A deafening roar ripped through the air. Everyone jumped in their seats at the sudden sound, and some of them smacked their hands over their ears to block it out. 

George’s eyes widened as the roar faded out. He shot to his feet and rushed to the nearest window. “Guys, this could be the rider!”

Matt rushed after him and skidded to a stop in front of the window. “No, that was Saint!”

The rest of the heroes all ran over to the window to see what was going on. The ground trembled with heavy, pounding dragon footsteps. They saw Monarch dashing across the Keep outside the ruins, with the Imperial sprinting after him. She opened her mouth and loosed another great roar just before she launched off the ground and tackled Monarch. The two tumbled across the ground, squawking as they snapped at each other.

Matt immediately ran to the door. “We have to break them up!”

“God dammit, Monarch!” George shouted. He was right on Matt’s heels.

Danny took one look out the window and whirled around to sprint after the two dragon riders. “Wait!”

Everyone rushed out of the house after the three panicked companions. Lion and Claire squeaked and galloped after Matt and Danny in a rush, with Dove and Grenade right behind them.

They dashed back into the Keep, where Monarch and Saint were currently struggling to pin each other down. Viral lounged nearby, sniffing at some old buildings and appearing to be generally unbothered about the whole situation.

“Monarch!” George yelled. “What the hell—?”

His sentence was cut off when Danny grabbed the back of George’s cloak and harshly jerked on it, earning a strangled yelp from the mighty dragon rider. Matt squeaked as Danny yanked him to a stop as well.

“Chill the fuck out!” Danny shouted.

Matt struggled against Danny’s hold on his cape. “They’re going to kill each other!”

“They’re _play-fighting!”_

Matt and George both stopped and blinked at Danny. They glanced at their dragons. The Imperial had Monarch in the dragon version of a headlock, with one foot pressing on his back and both front paws wrapped around his neck from behind. Monarch squawked and craned his neck to snap at her. Saint snarled in response.

Danny saw the doubtful expressions on their faces and sighed. “Saint’s tail is wagging, and Monarch isn’t struggling that much. She’s just asserting her dominance in her land. If they were really fighting, they’d be bloody and half-dead by now. Besides, Viral would have broken them up.”

Viral perked up at the sound of his name. He looked at the two Great Dragons, huffed, and lied back down.

Matt and George both sighed with relief. “Fuck, I thought she was trying to kill him,” Matt muttered.

Saint turned her head to look at Matt. Her throat rumbled in a low growl in response to his statement.

“I don’t doubt that she could,” George said.

Matt started towards Saint with Claire at his side. “Anyway, Claire and I are going to help them find this evil dragon rider. Even if you don’t want to, could you at least tell us where he is?”

Saint huffed and stepped off Monarch to let him up. She trotted over to Matt and Claire, every step shaking the ground beneath her. She lowered her head to the ground and grunted at Matt.

He reached out and patted her nose. “Okay. If you’re sure.” He turned to George. “She wants to help.”

George gave her a grateful smile. “Thank you, Imperial,” he said with a brief bow at the waist.

Saint nodded her head with a quiet rumble in her throat, then straightened to her full height. Matt gently nudged her arm. “You feel any intruders?”

Saint furrowed her brow and stared into the horizon. Her ears twitched as if she was listening to something. Claire squeaked and leaned forward, eager to hear what her mate had to say.

The Imperial’s eyes widened. She turned back to Matt and grumbled something that Danny couldn’t quite understand.

Matt’s face fell. “There? Seriously?”

George’s hand immediately went to the pommel of his sword. “What did she say?”

Concern flashed in Matt’s eyes. “Something is in the Battleground of the War Children. It’s way out east, but she can feel it. It’s powerful, and it’s not like anything she’s felt before. This is something dangerous.”

“We’ll have to go find it,” George said firmly. He looked up at Monarch. “Let’s go.”

Matt nodded. “We’ll saddle up.” He hopped on Claire’s back, and they disappeared in a blur of speed towards the ruins. A moment later, they reappeared next to Saint’s head. Matt began tying a set of reins around Saint’s antlers.

Danny watched as everyone started walking towards Viral and Monarch. “Uh, guys? Maybe we should think about this,” he said. He didn’t think that running right into a fight would be a good idea, especially after the rider had just killed the Jailer. He figured they should maybe stay in the Keep, build up defences, and prepare themselves for a possible attack. That sounded much safer than going to a battleground.

“Come on, man,” Jordon said as he passed Danny on his way to Viral.

Danny bit his lip. His concerns about the situation relentlessly buzzed around in his head, telling him everything that could go wrong if they left.

However, he wasn’t about to be left behind in the home of an ultra-powerful dragon. He sighed, but he trudged towards Monarch, Lion jogging along at his side.


	35. War Child

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i did make a design of the rider's dragon, but idk if i'll even post it because it's not really around as often as the others so there's not much of a point. i might post it in a few chapters, though. not sure yet. anyway, i'm really only updating today because i DESPERATELY want to post the chapter for Take Me Home as soon as possible. enjoy <3

Danny kept his crossbow in his hands as the group of six heroes flew through the air. He rode on Monarch’s back with Dylan and George, while Jordon and Jorel stayed on Viral. Matt rode on the Imperial, standing on the back of her neck with the reins in one hand. The way he rode reminded Danny of the dragon rider and his tendency to stand on his dragons, and the similarity only made Danny more suspicious of the guy. He couldn’t be trusted.

Claire flew alongside Saint. She kept at a much slower speed than she had earlier so she didn’t leave the others behind. However, she kept changing direction and zipping around the sky, seemingly out of boredom. She would stop next to Monarch’s head and sniff at him for a moment, then dart over to Viral and squeak at him before returning to Saint’s side. She seemed excited to be flying around with her girlfriend and her companion.

Y’know, despite the fact that her companion was probably an evil dragon rider set on totally eradicating dragons from the face of the realm.

“You good, Danno?”

Danny glanced to his left to see Dylan. He and Grenade stood there with matching concerned expressions. Danny had no idea why. There was nothing to be concerned about, aside from the suspiciously mysterious dragon rider they had just met.

“I’m good,” Danny muttered. “I just... I don’t know if we can trust this guy.”

Dylan nodded slowly, his gaze fixed on the Imperial far ahead of them. “Yeah, I get it. He did kinda show up outta nowhere.” He shrugged. “But if George trusts him, I think we should too.”

The words were out of Danny’s mouth before he realized what he was saying. “Well, maybe I don’t trust George either.”

Dylan blinked. “Wait, like, legit? We been followin’ the guy for over a week, and you’re only now bringing this up?”

Danny hunched his shoulders. He really shouldn’t have said anything. “Well, the legend of him and Monarch is sorta gruesome, and you saw what he did in the Swan’s Nest. Besides, I’ve only known him for eight days.”

Dylan furrowed his brow. “You’ve only known me for that long, and you said were practically family.”

“That’s different,” Danny sighed. “We talked. I know you better than I knew my own parents. I’ve barely talked to George, and I’ve hardly even interacted with Jorel and Jordon, either.” He clutched his cloak around his shoulders. “I don’t really know anyone. I can’t trust people as easily as you do.”

He paused. He probably shouldn’t have said that. Jordon and Jorel were Dylan’s friends. Dylan might be offended on their behalf. What if Dylan hated Danny for not trusting his friends?

“Understandable,” Dylan said with a shrug. “But maybe if you talked to them more, you would trust them better.”

Danny shrugged. “Maybe,” he muttered. He didn’t speak after that.

The Imperial slowed ahead of them. Matt turned around to yell at the others. “It’s just up ahead! We don’t see anything right now, but we’ll land and see if your dragon rider is down there!”

George nodded in response. “Lead the way!” he yelled back.

Saint dived down towards the flat plain below them. Dragons freely roamed the skies and the ground, and the sight was refreshing to Danny. The Swan’s Nest was totally devoid of dragons, and all the dragons in the Underground had humans with them. The Tragedy Isles had dragons, sure, but that place was covered in lava, and Danny wasn’t exactly a fan of fiery things. This place was nice and calm, and the plain below them had such a wonderful view.

That is, it did until he noticed the empty suits of armor. Metal littered the ground in heaps, some of it weapons and shields that had been stuck into the ground, the rest the remains of thousands, maybe millions of long dead knights. He thought back to the Undead Chasm and gulped nervously. He tried to reassure himself that these were just old weapons and they couldn’t hurt him, but the paranoid part of his brain kept screaming at him to hop on Lion and fly away as fast as he could.

However, a quick glance around him told him that no one else seemed worried. Maybe he was just a coward. What kind of hero was scared of empty suits of armor?

Monarch and Viral followed Saint as she descended. She lowered herself into the grass, and dozens of dragons around them looked up as the two remaining Great Dragons landed. Most of them stood and gathered around Saint, but a few sniffed at Monarch out of curiosity.

Matt furrowed his brow and gazed around the field. He tugged on Saint’s reins and she turned around to let Matt see the entire plain. “I don’t see him,” Matt said. Saint’s throat rumbled in response. “But he’s definitely here,” Matt translated. His grip tightened on the reins as he glanced at George. “What should we do?”

George’s left hand moved to the pommel of his sword. “Maybe we should split up and search. We can cover more ground that way.”

“If we’re splitting up, we go in pairs,” Jorel said. “No one goes alone.”

Dylan tugged on his braid as if he was thinking. “Maybe we should go in sort of groups,” he suggested. He gestured to Monarch and Saint. “You guys go together, and the rest of us group up. That way, you guys can signal us with a roar if you find the rider, and we’ve got five dragons and four companions so we’re not totally helpless if we find him.”

George and Matt exchanged a glance. “Sounds good,” George said.

Matt turned to Claire. “You should go with them. Find us if you need help, okay?”

Claire nodded once. She butted Matt’s head with her nose before darting over to Viral.

Dylan hopped up onto Grenade’s back as Danny hoisted himself onto Lion. They both launched off Monarch’s back, and Dylan let out a whistle so Dove could follow him.

Monarch and Saint braced their feet against the ground, readying themselves to take off again. “Let us know if anything happens,” George said.

Jordon nodded. “Will do.”

They lifted into the sky at the same time. The overpowering gust of wind from their humongous wings knocked over some of the stray dragons on the ground, and Danny almost toppled off Lion’s back.

Dylan gazed up at the two dragons as they slowly flew over the field. “Well, down to business.” He turned to the others. “We should have two people on the ground and two in the air as backup. Y’know, so the guys in the air can see further and the two on the ground can yeet into battle if they need to.”

Jorel blinked. “Yeet?”

Dylan waved a hand, dismissing Jorel’s confusion. “Jay, you and I should be on the ground. Tiger’s big eyes can see farther than most dragons, so having her on the ground will be helpful. As for me, Grenade’s not fast in the air, but he’s a good runner. You can ride on Dove’s back or you can ride on Grenade with me. Your choice.”

Jorel shrugged. “Sounds good to me.” He slid off Viral’s back and trudged across the field to where Dove was waiting.

Danny shot a hesitant glance at Jordon. “So... we’re in the air?”

Dylan nodded. “Yep.” He looked up at Jordon and gestured towards his guns at his belt. “You’ve got your rooty tooty point-and-shooties.” He pointed to Danny. “And you’ve got your pew-pew arrow thingies. You both have long distance weapons, so you should be in the air.”

Danny bit his lip, but he nodded. “Alright.”

“Great.” Grenade trotted back to Dove’s side. “Let’s go, homies,” Dylan said.

Dove and Grenade spurred into a gallop towards the east, and Viral launched into the air. Danny hesitated, but he squeaked in alarm when Lion took off after Viral without warning.

Danny kept his gaze on the ground below as Lion levelled out and soared through the air. A shape rose up next to him and he jumped, but it was just Claire. She chirped happily at him.

Despite Danny’s cautiousness about Matt, he just couldn’t have that same attitude about the guy’s dragons. He reached out as far as he could, and Claire nudged his hand with her nose.

Viral lowered himself a little so he was flying as close to Lion as he could. “So,” Jordon called, “what do you think of Matt?”

Danny hesitated. He didn’t want to tell the truth when Claire was right there. She would probably be offended. “He’s fine,” Danny said.

Jordon studied Danny for a moment. Danny could almost feel Jordon’s gaze burning into him— and Danny _hated_ the feeling of burning.

Luckily, Jordon turned away and stared at the ground instead, scanning the area for the dragon rider. “So... uh, quick question: why don’t you live in one of the towns instead of that burned up village?”

Danny tensed. He didn’t like questions that pried into his personal life. He didn’t like questions, period. “Why don’t _you_ live in one of the towns?” he shot back, hoping that would shut Jordon up.

Jordon chuckled. “Fair point. I figure people wouldn’t like me for being a companion. Most people on Sunset ain’t that friendly about dragons, y’know?”

Danny’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. He felt the same.

But he said nothing. Jordon was still practically a stranger. Danny couldn’t go around pouring his feelings out to anyone.

There was silence for a moment, then Jordon sighed. Viral drifted further away from Lion.

Danny focused on searching the ground. He spotted Dove and Grenade below, and despite the speed that Viral and Lion were flying at, the two dragons on the ground were keeping up just fine.

He caught sight of another shape moving in the grass and squinted. It moved slightly lower than Dove and Grenade, but it quickly picked up speed. It was hard to tell what it was, but the glint of metal was enough to tell him that it was not something good.

He gently nudged Lion and pointed at the ground. “Look.”

Lion followed his gaze. She squeaked in alarm, and Danny held on tight as she swooped down to the ground below. He drew his crossbow with one hand, ready to shoot at a moment’s notice.

Lion skidded to a stop on the ground in front of the moving shape. It reared back just before it could crash into the tamer and his dragon, and the two got a good look at the shape as it stopped in front of them.

A large skeletal horse towered above them. Bones stuck out of its torn flesh, and mist curled off its form under plates of golden armor. Its grey skin clung to its bones in tatters. Its mane was matted and dark, and beneath its plated helmet, its eyes were nothing but empty gaping holes. On the horse’s back sat a soldier decked out in old golden armor, but one of its arms was missing, and the torn pale skin around its hollow eyes left shadows in its face. It held the horse’s reins in its one hand. A sword was sheathed at its belt.

Danny didn’t bother shooting at it. He nudged Lion’s side with his foot, and she turned and bolted after Dove and Grenade. She lifted into the air to pick up speed, her feet just grazing the top of the grass.

They pulled up next to Dylan and Jorel. “Undead soldiers!” Danny shouted. “They’re coming after us!”

Dylan’s eyes widened. He turned to glanced behind them. “Shit! Jay, we gotta get in the air!”

Jorel nodded once. He tapped Dove on her back. “Can we go up please?”

Dove chirped in response. She and Grenade lifted off, and Danny and Lion followed. Danny kept his gaze on the soldier and its horse. More shapes moved across the plain towards them. Suits of armor in the grass shifted and stacked together as mist curled from the ground, flowing into the armor and forming an army of ghostly soldiers. Horse armor trembled and rose from the ground, and the mist wisped into zombie steeds. The soldiers all hauled themselves onto the horses and took off towards the heroes, crowding under them like a swarm of flies. Dragons resting in the field yelped and took off as the soldiers rose from the ground.

The four heroes and Claire all gathered together in the sky. An arrow shot from one of the soldiers’ bows, and it whizzed past Danny’s ear.

Jordon stared down at the army. “Well, this is a problem.”

Dylan nodded. “Yeah. But at least we’re in the air this time. We can get away if we need to.”

“Can we?” Danny asked. “Those things could follow us anywhere.”

Jorel scratched Tiger behind the horns. “Maybe we should get George and Matt.”

Claire squeaked. “That’s not a good idea,” Danny translated. “We shouldn’t lead them to Saint and Monarch, because that’s what the dragon rider wants. He’s trying to kill the Great Dragons.”

Dylan heaved a sigh. “Then what the fuck do we do?”

Luckily, no one had to answer that question. A large white silhouette of a dragon appeared on the horizon, and before they knew it, the dragon rider swooped down towards them and pulled his dragon to a stop. All five of their dragons whined and backed away, and Danny couldn’t blame them. The Jailer was dead now, which meant this guy’s dragon had free reign to take her place. They wouldn’t be able to face a Great Dragon on their own.

Besides, the white dragon looked different than it had when they last saw it. It seemed to have grown a size, because now it was bigger than Viral. Its wings shone in the sun with an almost metallic finish. The thick ridges on its back had slimmed so they were more like spikes, and more tiny spikes stuck up out of its back like it was trying to grow a line of quills in its hide. Its arms had shrunk somehow, but its legs were larger and its claws were longer. Two bony nubs stuck out of its forehead as tiny, undergrown horns.

The rider cocked his head, his grip tight on his reins. “You managed to find me again. Good for you. I didn’t think you would all live this long.” He leaned towards Dylan. “Looks like you got your friend back.” His goggles flashed in the sunlight as he peered at Grenade. “What’s wrong, buddy? You didn’t want a better companion? You’d rather have this piece of trash?”

Grenade bared his teeth and snarled. Dylan narrowed his eyes at the rider and drew one of his daggers. “Don’t talk to us,” he growled.

The rider chuckled as he turned to Dove and Jorel. “Aww, looks like someone got over me pretty quick. What, you’d seriously prefer a dragon handler to a rider?”

Dove’s eyes twitched behind her bandages. She growled, and the dragon rider laughed.

“You don’t scare me, girly. Nice try.” He looked up at Jordon. “Wow, Terrell hasn’t killed himself yet. Surprising. Why? Is your little boyfriend Georgie telling you you’re a good person?”

Jordon tensed. Even Danny could see that the rider’s words had struck a nerve. In one swift move, Jordon drew a gun and fired it at the rider’s head. The white dragon simply dipped its head down to lower its companion away from Jordon’s line of fire.

The rider whistled when his dragon steadied itself again. “We’re angry today, aren’t we?” He turned to look across the plain. “Well, maybe I’ve got a little piece of information that might change your tune.” He leaned in, and Danny got the feeling he was smiling behind his mask of cloth. “I’ve already won. I just have to get two more little things, and then we’re going to rule the world. We’re pretty much done here, anyway. We just have to kill the Imperial and the Guardian, and we can move on. There’s nothing you can do to stop us.”

“You wanna fucking bet?” Jordon barked.

Jorel grabbed his spear off his back as Jordon drew both of his guns. The dragon rider just shook his head. “You really think you can beat me and an army of undead soldiers? You sure are—”

He was cut off when a blast of water washed over him. His dragon screeched in alarm and darted away. The stream cut off. The four heroes looked to where it had come from, and two large shapes descended from the clouds. Monarch slowed and hovered next to Viral, lips pulled back in a snarl. Another shape followed, and the Imperial stopped next to him, her gigantic wings beating in unison with Monarch’s. Matt and George stood on their dragons’ necks. George had drawn his sword, his other hand clenched on the reins. Matt hadn’t drawn his bow yet, but he glared at the dragon rider with all the anger he had.

The dragon rider spread his arms. “Look who joined the party! Glad to see you both. Or, all four of you, I suppose. I didn’t know the Imperial had a rider. I’ve never heard of you. Must not be as legendary as the great George Ragan.”

Matt narrowed his eyes, and the charged tension from earlier sparked in the air. Danny decided that he would not want to be on the other end of that guy’s bow.

Matt drew his bow and nocked an arrow, glaring down the shaft at the dragon rider. “Leave. You’re trespassing on our land, and we _don’t_ take kindly to strangers.”

Saint snarled at the dragon rider. Her canines were bared, and her dark eyes glinted with fury. If Danny had been in the rider’s position, he would have run away as fast as possible, but the rider just ignored them and looked at George.

“Killed anyone else since we last met, Ragan?” he asked. “How much blood is on your hands now? Were you the one who put the Jailer out of her misery?”

George sneered. “Listen. We don’t have to fight, but we will destroy you if we have to.”

The dragon rider shrugged. “Alright then. Destroy me.”

His dragon dashed for the army of soldiers below. A moment later, it swerved back into the sky, the rider gone from its back.

“Shit!” Matt cursed. “Where the hell did he go?”

Dylan gripped the chain of his dagger. “You two go after his dragon. The rest of us will find him.”

George hesitated. “You sure you’ll all be okay on your own?”

Jordon nodded. “We’ll be fine. That dragon is more of a threat.”

“Be safe,” George said. He tugged on Monarch’s reins, and he flew after the rider’s dragon. Saint purred at Claire in greeting before she turned and soared back into the clouds.

“Let’s go,” Jordon said. Viral dived down towards the ground, and after a moment’s hesitation, Dove and Grenade followed.

Lion lurched towards the ground. Danny held on tight to her fur to keep himself from falling off, and a second later, they were enveloped in chaos.

Danny yelped as an old rusty sword came swinging right for his face. He raised his golden crossbow to deflect the blow. The sword clanged on the metal. He shot at the soldier who was on the other side of the sword before Lion skittered away.

Viral landed heavily in the throng of soldiers on horseback. He opened his maw and blew a huge stream of fire into the army. Ghost horses galloped away, their old flesh blazing from the slightest grazing of fire. The blast of fire cleared a path for Danny to get to Viral, and Lion sprinted towards him at full speed.

Lion skidded to a stop next to Viral. “Jordon!” Danny shouted. “You see him?” A soldier on horseback ran up to Danny with a ball and chain, but Danny aimed his crossbow at its face and fired a couple bolts into its eyes. It yelled in pain, a grating, horrible sound tearing through its rotten throat. It yanked its horse to a stop as it dropped its weapon and clawed at its face.

Jordon glanced down at Danny as he fired a bullet into the fray. “Nope!” He pointed his gun in Danny’s direction, and a bullet shot past Danny’s head and hit a skeletal horse in a chink in its armor. It toppled to the ground, and its rider fell face first onto the grass. Danny whirled around and planted an arrow in its head before it could get back up.

“I don’t know if we’ll be able to find him in this mess!” Danny shouted. The sound of frantically approaching hooves pounding on the ground got louder, and Lion leaped out of the way just as a horse came ploughing through, its rider holding a lance in its arms. The horse circled around and headed straight for him again. Danny fired an arrow at the horse’s neck. It whinnied and veered off course, crashing into a group of advancing soldiers.

“Just keep an eye out for—!” Jordon’s sentence was cut off when an arrow zipped from the throng of soldiers and thudded into his shoulder. He grimaced and stopped shooting for a moment, and a soldier leaped off its horse’s back and hoisted itself onto Viral. It raised its sword above its head.

Danny shot three arrows into the soldier’s neck. It dropped its weapon and scratched at its throat, trying to dislodge the bolts. Jordon recovered from the shock of the pain and raised a gun. A bullet blasted through the soldier’s head and it fell off Viral’s back.

A sharp pain ripped into Danny’s stomach and he yelped. He didn’t bother looking down to see what had happened. He looked up at the soldier that had shot him with its bow. It was busy grabbing another arrow from its quiver, but Lion dashed towards it and Danny smashed his crossbow over its head before it could nock its bow. It toppled off its horse with a garbled scream of rage.

Danny nudged Lion. “I think we should get in the air!”

Lion nodded. She spread her wings and launched off the ground just as two more soldiers ran at them from opposite directions. They smashed into each other instead. Their horses crumpled to the ground on impact as their riders went flying.

Gritting his teeth through the pain in his stomach, Danny held up his crossbow and fired arrow after arrow into the army of soldiers. Lion hovered far above the ground to keep Danny out of the soldiers’ line of fire as he repeatedly nocked back his bowstring and shot into the undead army. An arrow zipped towards them from the fray and stuck itself in Danny’s lower leg, but he just clenched his jaw and kept firing. His fear was screaming at him to tell Lion to fly the two of them out of there, but that would just be a shitty thing to do. He couldn’t leave the others to fight while he ran away! What kind of hero would he be if he did that?

Danny scanned the soldiers in the crowd as he shot. There was no sign of the dragon rider anywhere.

Another arrow pierced Danny’s thigh. A rope trailed behind it, and whoever had shot yanked on it. Danny yelped as the barbed arrowhead dug into his flesh. Lion bobbed downward from the force of the pull. The arrow refused to remove itself no matter how much the soldier on the other end pulled. Danny ground his teeth, trying not to scream through the pain. It felt as if the arrow was trying to yank his muscles out of his skin.

The soldier pulled again, and he couldn’t help the squeak that escaped his lips. He desperately fired into the crowd, searching for the soldier who had gotten a hold of him, but he saw nothing. He didn’t even have anything to cut the rope with.

Lion whimpered as they were slowly pulled down to the ground by the arrow in Danny’s leg. Sweat beaded on Danny’s forehead as the arrow jerked harshly on his skin.

The soldier gave a forceful yank, and with a pained scream from Danny, the arrow ripped out of his leg. Lion squeaked and darted away from the army immediately, soaring into the sky as Danny reached down and clenched his hand over the open wound. The metallic scent of blood filled the air as it dripped through his fingers and streamed down his leg. He didn’t know how much damage that arrow had done, but he got the feeling he wouldn’t be able to walk for at least a day. Not to mention the arrow still lodged in his stomach. He didn’t want to take it out for fear that he would bleed out.

He knew that coming here was a bad idea. He should have trusted his instincts about those suits of armor. The thought crossed his mind that maybe agreeing to become a hero was a mistake.

“Yo Danny!” Grenade flew up next to him with Dylan on his back. Both of his daggers were drawn, and both the blades and the tips of his fingers glistened with blood. He brushed a stray strand of hair out of his eyes, leaving a streak of red behind on his face. “You good, homie?”

Danny saw no point in lying when those zombie soldiers had clearly wanted to use him as a pincushion. “No,” he tried to say, but it came out more as a whimper. His leg hurt a _lot_. 

Dylan’s gaze slid over Danny and he grimaced. “That don’t look too good. I’ll get Jordon.”

Danny didn’t bother trying to protest. Grenade swooped down towards Viral, who was still sending blast after blast of fire into the relentless army. He panted between fiery breaths, and his hide was riddled with small wounds. Grenade squawked at Viral as he passed, and Viral’s gaze flickered toward Danny and Lion. He launched off the ground immediately. 

Grenade soared back into the air. “I’ll keep helping Jorel!” Dylan shouted to Jordon and Danny just before Grenade dived back down into the swarm of soldiers. 

Viral hovered next to Lion. Jordon poked his head out from behind one of Viral’s ridges. “Shit, you don’t look good.” A stray arrow zipped past his face and he blinked in surprise. “We should get you out of here.”

Danny grimaced from the pain. He wanted to protest. He was supposed to be a hero. Why couldn’t he handle a few arrow wounds?

But Lion flapped over to Viral and landed on his back. Jordon walked up to her, already opening the bag on his shoulder. “Any idea where we should hide?”

“Come back to the Keep!”

Danny and Jordon both jumped at the voice. They looked up to see Matt on Claire’s back, a set of reins trailing from her mouth to his hands. A shallow cut spanned his face and he was breathing heavily. His quiver of arrows was empty, but Danny blinked, and a couple arrows magically appeared in the quiver before his eyes.

Jordon furrowed his brow. “What? Why?”

“We’re retreating,” Matt rasped. “That guy’s a _fucking_ animal. I don’t know what the hell is wrong with his dragon. Its eyes started glowing, and its fangs got huge, and it has horns now, and quills for some fucking reason, and it dived down for a _second_ and came back up with its rider. This... this isn’t normal. That isn’t what a Great Dragon should be. I...” He looked up at the two of them. “This is what you guys have been fighting? How the hell are you not dead?”

Jordon shrugged. “Been asking myself that every day for the past week.”

“Where’s George?” Danny asked. His voice was quiet, but luckily, Matt heard him. 

“He and Monarch are helping Saint hold that guy off. He told me to come let the rest of you know that we’re leaving.” He shook his head as if he couldn’t believe anything that had just happened. “This is fucking bonkers, dude. I didn’t think anyone could actually replace a Great Dragon like that.”

A deafening roar exploded through the air. Claire whirled around as the white dragon dived down through the clouds and slammed its feet on the grass. Monarch bolted after it, his mouth open and throat glowing blue as he readied a blast of water. The white dragon loosed a horrible screech that ripped through Danny’s eardrums. He clamped his hands over his ears and watched as Monarch careened to the side and stumbled to a stop on the ground. The white dragon’s baby horns had grown, and its ridges had sharpened into needle-like spikes. The tiny spikes clustered on its back had lengthened into razor sharp quills. Its arms had turned grey as stone, and the heroes watched in horror as the scales cracked and the dragon’s arms crumbled into dust. The dragon rider stood among the towering quills with the dragon’s reins in one hand.

“What the fuck did he do to it?” Danny whispered.

“It’s really turning into a Great Dragon,” Matt muttered. “What the hell.”

Saint darted down from the clouds and skidded across the ground. She growled at the white dragon, and it could have been Danny’s imagination, but he could have sworn her eyes were glowing with a soft purple light. Danny thought back to what Monarch and George had done in the Swan’s Nest and his stomach flipped. If this Great Dragon went berserk to fight another Great Dragon that was currently going off the shits, all hell would break loose.

Matt seemed to realize this, because he nudged Claire’s side and she darted over to the Imperial. She fluttered around Saint’s head as Matt hopped from her back to Saint’s. He took up the reins and guided her away from the white dragon.

“Giving up already?” the rider shouted. “I thought you were supposed to be heroes? Come on! If you want to defeat us so bad, then _do it,_ you _fucking cowards!”_ Two pinpricks of white light flickered behind his goggles, and Danny realized with a start that the rider’s eyes were glowing. His dragon opened its maw and screeched. Monarch and Saint skittered away, both of them growling.

Jordon tapped Viral’s side. “We should go, buddy.”

Viral nodded once. He squawked at Monarch, and Monarch grunted in response.

“Go!” George yelled. “We’ll be with you as soon as this bitch is dead!”

Viral shot a concerned glance at the white dragon, but he turned and started flying away. The white dragon didn’t even come after them. Danny just heard loud roaring and scuffling as the three dragons and their riders locked each other in a battle.

Viral soared higher into the sky. Danny stared down at the battlefield, frantically searching for a sign of Dylan or Jorel. He sighed with relief as Dove and Grenade darted out of the throng of undead soldiers and lifted into the sky after Viral.

Danny watched as the white dragon lunged at Saint, teeth bared. Monarch tackled the dragon, but his growl turned into a squeak as the dragons quills jabbed into his scales. He braced his feet on the dragon’s back and launched himself off, throwing the dragon right into Saint’s claws. The dragon bit at her neck and she screeched as its teeth dug into her flesh, but Claire bolted into the dragon’s face and raked her claws across its snout. It seemed like Saint and Monarch were evenly matched against this new Great Dragon, whatever its name was. Maybe the six heroes had already failed in their quest to protect Angeles. Maybe the dragons of Angeles were doomed.

Danny turned around so he wouldn’t have to watch as the three fought. Maybe being a hero was a mistake. Maybe they were all going to die. Maybe he should just go back home with Lion.

Well, he was already neck-deep in this mess.

It’s not like he could back out now.


	36. Take Me Home

Danny was way too scared of pain for this bullshit.

As soon as they returned to the Imperial’s Keep, Lion carried Danny into Matt’s house, and with Dylan’s help, Jordon laid Danny on one of the few beds in the house. From there, Jordon quickly wrapped up his own wound in his shoulder before turning his attention to Danny. The arrow in Danny’s lower leg, he took care of easily, but the one in Danny’s stomach would apparently require some surgery.

The other four sat in Matt’s living room, planning what to do next. George and Matt hadn’t been able to take down the rider and his new Great Dragon, and the rider had flown away almost completely uninjured. George didn’t take his hand off the pommel of his sword, even as Dylan patched up a cut on his arm. Matt apparently made food when he was stressed, because a pot of soup sat bubbling over the fire, and he was kneading dough on the dining table. He’d made some tea for the others first. Jorel’s cup was empty, but George’s sat forgotten on the table.

Matt briefly abandoned his dough and moved to the soup on the fire. “Any plans?” he asked for what must have been the third time.

Dylan did his best to pin George’s bandages in place. “I got nothing. Jay?”

Jorel shook his head. He picked up George’s cup of tea, but he had gotten lost in his thoughts and hadn’t taken a sip yet. Tiger leaned down from where she sat curled around his shoulders and lapped at the steaming tea.

A startled squeak rang through the air, followed by Jordon’s reassuring mumbling. They all turned to one of the doors in the wall. Danny groaned in pain from inside the room as Lion whimpered.

“I need a nurse in here!” Jordon shouted through the door.

Dylan finished with George’s bandages and stood up. “I got it.” Dove and Grenade looked up from the floor as he left, but they didn’t follow as he nudged the door shut behind him.

George tapped his fingers on his sword. “If Danny’s down for the count, we’re right back to five heroes.”

Jorel grimaced as that realization set in. “Right. Our situation’s barely improved. I mean, we’ve got two Great Dragons now, but we need Danny. He’s the only tamer we have.”

Matt returned to kneading dough on the table. “Where did you say this guy was going again?” he asked.

“The Restless Spire and God’s Vision,” George answered.

Matt nodded, his gaze fixed on the table. He started separating the dough into little sections.

Jorel sipped at the teacup in his hands. “Maybe we should go there first.”

George and Matt turned to look at him. “What do you mean?” George asked.

Jorel shrugged. “We beat the rider to it. If getting objects from all these dangerous places gives someone power, maybe we can do it first.”

George and Matt exchanged a worried glance. “I don’t know,” Matt said finally. “We don’t know what kind of magic this is or if it’s dangerous to use.”

“It might be our only way to get rid of him,” Jorel told them.

The three of them fell silent. Jorel had a point. If the dragon rider was this powerful already, they might have to follow in his footsteps and learn how to harness that same power.

The door to the room opened and Dylan stepped out. His hands were red with blood. “He’s holding up okay,” Dylan announced with a concerned glance at the makeshift surgery room. “Surprised he hasn’t screamed yet, with Jordon poking around in his gut.” He shuddered. “We’re gonna need something to cauterize the wound.”

“Bring me a knife,” Matt said, rolling his dough into long strips. “I’ll heat it up on the fire.”

Dylan shouldered the door open again. The sounds of muffled voices swam through the air.

Jorel let his mind wander as Dylan came back out with a small knife. He didn’t want to go to more dangerous places, but what else were they supposed to do? They had to take the rider down eventually. This might be their only option.

Tiger sniffed at his teacup. He held it up and let her drink the rest. 

A high-pitched whine echoed through the house, followed by frantic words from Jordon. “You’re doing great, you’re doing great, you’re doing great, just stay still, stay still, _please_ stay still— fuck, I’m sorry, I know it’s bad, I know, I know, I know— _yes!_ Oh my god! Dilly, I gotta burn the wound, gimme something quick!”

Dylan tapped his foot impatiently. “How hot is the knife?”

Matt pulled the small blade out of the fire. “Ain’t the hottest, but it’ll work.” He held it out.

Dylan took the knife, careful not to touch the metal, and rushed back into the room. He and Jordon exchanged a few brief, incomprehensible words before silence fell once again. 

A scream burst from the room, startling the other three almost out of their seats. It sounded oddly muffled, like someone was shrieking through a piece of cloth. Jordon shouted something to Dylan, but it was barely audible over the sound of Danny’s agony. 

“Fucking god,” Matt muttered as Danny’s scream died out.

There were a few quiet whispers from the room in the moments that followed. The door opened and Dylan stepped out. “He’s good,” he said. “Jordy’s stitching up the wound.”

George and Jorel let out a simultaneous sigh of relief. “Good,” George said.

Matt nodded. “As long as he’s alive. He looked pretty bad earlier. Actually wasn’t sure if he’d even make it.”

“Jordon’s a good healer,” George assured him. “He’d never let Danny die.”

Jorel scratched Tiger behind the horns. “Yeah. He saved me and George back in the Swan’s Nest.” He leaned back on the couch. “Either way, he should probably stay here with Danny while we go... do whatever it is we have to.”

“I’m not staying.”

They all whirled around to see Danny standing in the doorway. He leaned against Lion, one arm draped over her back to keep himself steady, the other raised to the stitched-up wound in his stomach. His voice had been quiet, but everyone heard him.

Jordon appeared in the door way behind him and grabbed Danny’s shoulder. “Dude, I told you to lay down!”

Danny’s eyelids fluttered and his knees buckled a little, but he managed to stay upright. “No. No, if... if we’re going to the Spire, I have to be there.”

“No, you don’t,” Jordon insisted. “You have to be lying down. Preferably sleeping.”

He tried to guide Danny back into the room, but Danny shrugged his hand off. “No. I have to... I have to go there.” He shifted his feet with a grimace. “The fuckin’... the dreams we all had. Before we knew we were heroes. The... nightmares. I... I know what mine was.”

Everyone blinked in surprise. “Seriously?” George said. “When did you remember that?”

Danny gestured weakly to Jordon. “While he was rearranging my insides.” His legs shook, and Lion nuzzled his hair with her nose in an attempt at comfort. “I don’t really remember exactly what happened in it, but... I do know it happens at the Restless Spire.”

Jordon and George exchanged a hesitant glance. If intense pain was what made Danny remember what he saw happening in the Restless Spire, that couldn’t have been good.

Jorel had the same idea. “Maybe you shouldn’t go then,” he suggested. “Maybe keeping you away from your nightmare is what’s best. You saw how all of ours turned out.”

Despite his weak state, a fiery determination blazed in Danny’s eyes. “I’m going. I have to.”

No one wanted to let Danny step foot out of this house. The poor guy just got three arrows ripped out of him, and he looked about ready to pass out. However, something about the look on his face told the others that he would go whether they wanted him to or not.

George sighed. “Let’s saddle up then.”

Matt held up a hand. “Not until we eat. We’re not doing this on empty stomachs.”

* * *

About a half hour later, the six heroes boarded their dragons and took off towards the Restless Spire. Matt, Saint, and Claire took the lead since they knew the land better than the others. Jordon practically ordered Danny to ride on Viral with him, since Danny insisted on coming along, so Danny and Lion were stuck on Viral’s back with a concerned Jordon who wouldn’t stop fussing over his wounds.

Danny kept one hand on his stomach wound. It still burned like a motherfucker, which he was a little upset at Jordon about. Sure, Danny knew Jordon would have to stop the bleeding somehow, but he didn’t know Jordon would straight up burn it until he shouted at Dylan for a hot knife. He had given Danny a cloth to bite down on while he did his surgery and he warned Danny before he did anything, but that didn’t change the fact that Jordon _burned_ him.

Jordon, however, was unaware of Danny’s annoyance and he honestly wouldn’t have cared if he did notice. He was too focused on making sure Danny didn’t pass out while he stubbornly insisted on coming along.

He lifted up Danny’s shirt, which had been given to him by Matt since his old one was covered in blood, and studied the bandages and the small dots of blood left behind by the stitches. While he was itching to unwrap the bandages to check, he knew that leaving the wound alone would allow it to heal.

But it wouldn’t be able to do that if Danny was running around trying to be a hero.

Saint began to descend, and Monarch and Viral dipped down after her. They broke through the clouds, and two large structures came into view.

One was shorter and appeared to be man-made. It was constructed from grey stone, and large columns stuck up from the ground to frame the small set of doors in the front. Despite how short it appeared from this height, it was probably much taller up close.

The structure next to it, however, reached towards the sky. Its grey rock narrowed to a point that just brushed the clouds. There were no openings in the rock from what they could see, but Danny was sure that they would be able to get inside. Whatever had happened in his nightmare was supposed to happen inside that spire.

They swooped down and landed in front of the two structures. As soon as Viral touched the ground, Danny slid off his back and landed in the grass. His legs buckled at the bolt of pain that shot through him, but he leaned against Viral for a brief moment to steady himself. 

Jordon hopped down next to him. “Be careful.”

George stepped off Monarch’s back. “Matt, what do you know about this place?”

Matt exchanged a confused glance with Saint. “We don’t know much. We don’t come here often.”

Danny furrowed his brow. “Hang on.” He turned to Jordon. “Where’d you put my bag?”

Jorel lifted the bag that had been slung across his shoulder. Danny hadn’t even noticed that Jorel was carrying one. “I got it,” Jorel said. He slid off Monarch’s back and held the bag out to Danny. 

Danny took it and started digging through it. He blinked when he noticed something was missing. He looked up at Dylan. “Did you take my coin purse?”

Dylan held up his hands. “Nah, homie. I ain’t got it.”

Jorel reached into his pocket and pulled out Danny’s coin purse. “Sorry. Force of habit.”

Danny just shook his head. “Whatever.” He took his book from his bag and flipped through it until he reached the page on the Reckless Tower and the Restless Spire. “‘These two places appear very different, but they are connected,’” he read. “‘Only one person can be inside each one at a time, and if one enters the Spire or the Tower, the remaining person must enter the other. It is not known as to why, since surviving adventurers haven’t spoken of their experiences.’” 

“I’m going in the Tower,” Jordon said immediately. “I have to make sure this idiot doesn’t die.” Danny was his patient, whether Danny wanted to be or not, and Jordon wasn’t about to let him go and get himself killed alone. 

Danny grimaced. “Whatever.” He just needed to get into the Restless Spire, and he didn’t care who went into the Tower. It could have been Matt for all he cared.

He started towards the Restless Spire, and his injured leg collapsed beneath him. He would have fallen if someone hadn’t rushed forward and held him up. 

“Here, lemme help,” Jorel said. Danny saw him slip the coin purse back into Danny’s bag as he took Danny’s arm and slung it over his shoulders. Tiger scampered out of the way and curled around Jorel’s torso. 

Jordon watched as Jorel helped Danny hobble over to the Spire. Lion trotted next to them, whining and licking Danny’s head in concern. Jordon could see it on everyone else’s faces that no one wanted to let Danny go into that place alone, but it seemed like they had no choice. Danny was going to go into the Restless Spire, or he would die trying. 

Jordon took a deep breath and turned to George. “Wish me luck.”

George clapped Jordon on the shoulder. Luckily, it was his uninjured shoulder, because Jordon almost buckled under the force anyway. He gave George a grateful smile for the enthusiastic support before making his way toward the Tower. Viral’s loud footsteps walked behind him, and even though he was pretty sure Viral wouldn’t be able to get in, he was glad that his dragon stuck with him. He didn’t know what he would do without Viral. 

Danny stopped in front of the Spire. He took his arm away from Jorel and gazed up. He couldn’t even see the top from where he was standing. 

However, he stepped forward with his good leg and approached the Spire. Pain jolted through his bad leg when he put the slightest bit of weight on it, but he tried to ignore it. 

Danny paused in front of the huge structure. On a whim, he reached out and pressed his hand to the rock. 

A small section of stone broke away from the rest and disappeared into the wall. He stared through the door-sized opening and into the pitch-black darkness beyond.

As Danny dug his lantern from his bag and held it up for Lion to light, Jordon walked up to the Reckless Tower with an increasing sense of anxiety. The way that rock had opened up as soon as Danny touched it reminded him too much of the way Bullet’s Edge had opened up for him. The entire situation sent dozens of red flags waving in his face, but he knew that nothing he did or said would convince Danny to back down. 

Danny steeled his nerves. He had to do this. He had to know what that nightmare was about. 

Without another moment’s hesitation, he stepped through the doorway. 

A loud bang echoed through the air as the rock slammed shut behind Danny. Lion yelled and skittered away from the Spire. 

“Shit,” Jordon muttered. 

The doors of the Reckless Tower whipped open, revealing a void of darkness inside. Jordon rushed forward without a second thought. He ran into the Tower, and the doors shut with a final bang. 

Danny held up his lantern. He squinted through the dark, trying to see anything. The shadows threatened to spill into his little circle of light. He shuddered. He hated not being able to see.

He limped forward. The whole situation felt so familiar. He vaguely remembered stumbling through the dark with wounds in his leg and stomach, but no other memories from his nightmare would return to him.

Something hissed in the darkness and he jumped in surprise. He held up his lantern to see what it was, but his curiosity was met with a faint disembodied giggle.

“Hello?” he called. Was someone else in there with him?

No response. He took a deep breath and continued on through the dark.

He limped along, putting as little weight as possible on his bad leg. He kept one hand on the wound in his stomach. Pain shot through him with every movement, but he tried to ignore it. He had to keep going.

_He’s watching._

Danny whirled his head around, searching for the source of the voice. When he saw no one, he decided to speak. “Who’s watching?”

Nothing responded for a few seconds. Then, just as he began to think the voice had just been in his head, something whispered in his ear.

_Do you think you can trust him?_

Danny recoiled at the feeling of someone’s breath in his ear. He glanced around for whoever had spoken, but no one was there.

“Trust who?” he asked.

He felt a hand brush against his back. _Your friend,_ the voice whispered as gnarled fingers curled around his shoulder. He could almost hear the wicked grin in their voice as they spoke.

He turned to look, but while the feeling of someone holding his shoulder remained, no one stood there. No visible hand was grasping him.

He shivered at the feeling of the hand’s fingernails digging into his skin. “I don’t know what you mean.”

The hand pushed him forward and he stumbled. He stepped with his bad leg and it crumpled beneath him. He crashed to the ground with a pained grunt. He managed to keep his lantern in his hand, which was fortunate. The little bit of light helped keep him more or less calm.

Another voice whispered in his ear. _Do you trust him enough to show him your fears?_

Danny furrowed his brow, and then it clicked: Jordon was in the Reckless Tower. The two places were connected, and going by what these voices said...

“Jordon can see me?” he muttered.

No voice gave him a direct answer, but the faint giggles in the darkness were enough to confirm his assumption. He honestly didn’t care that Jordon could see him. It wasn’t like anything had really happened so far.

He struggled to his feet. It took a lot of effort, but he managed to stand. He gave one last cautious glance around him, then continued on through the shadows. He had no idea where he was going, but he decided to just focus on walking for now.

_You’re here for something, aren’t you?_

Danny grit his teeth, but he thought it would be rude not to answer. “Maybe. Why?”

 _You can’t get out of here without facing your fears_ , a voice hissed.

Another hand brushed his arm. _What are you so afraid of, Daniel Rose?_

Danny hunched his shoulders at the use of his middle name, but he trudged on. The voices whispered all around him. He couldn’t hear what most of them were saying.

His foot hit something and he almost tumbled to the ground. He took a step back and held out his lantern to see what he had kicked.

It was a raised stone step, the first of many in a long, winding staircase that disappeared into the dark above him. He raised his bad leg and hesitantly placed it on the first step. He quickly pulled his good leg up with it.

He continued on that way up the stairs. He didn’t stop for a second, not even when he felt the stitches in his stomach straining against his skin.

He hissed in pain when the top of his head collided with the ceiling. He stepped back and raised his lantern. Right above him was a wooden trapdoor in the stone ceiling.

He reached up and pushed on it. It flipped open, and he continued up the stairs into the darkness beyond.

He emerged upstairs to see a funeral.

He blinked rapidly as his vision was filled with dim sunlight. It wasn’t extremely bright, but it felt that way since he had just been immersed in shadows. He stepped onto a path of solid packed dirt, and the trapdoor shut behind him.

He stared ahead at the crowd of people in front of him. They all faced away from him, and there were so few that he was able to see through the crowd. An open casket sat on a wooden dias in the path.

A young boy pushed through the crowd and stared at Danny, his eyes wide. “Danny, what the hell are you doing here?” he whispered. “I told you to stay at home.”

Danny’s mouth fell open as he tried to respond, but his words caught in his throat. This kid looked familiar, but his mind was muddled with blood loss and confusion and wouldn’t present him with the boy’s name.

The boy sighed and grabbed Danny’s hand. “Whatever. As long as you’re here, you can say goodbye.”

He led Danny through the crowd towards the casket. Danny limped along behind him. The people in the crowd barely spared him a glance, as if his presence there was totally normal. Something about this situation felt oddly familiar— not because he thought it happened in his dream, but because he was sure this had happened before in real life. When had he gone to a funeral last? It had to have been over twenty years ago.

They stopped in front of the open casket. “You probably won’t even remember them in a few years,” the boy said. “You’re too young. But...” He looked up at Danny. “You got anything you wanna say to Dad?”

Danny blinked. He looked down at the casket. A body sat inside, but the face was nothing but a blank, unrecognizable veil of skin stretched over its skull. He didn’t know who had died or how.

A gnarled hand grasped his shoulder once again. _What are you afraid of?_ a voice whispered.

Dozens of answers came to mind. He was afraid of so many things, but what in particular was here that he was scared of? Death? Crowds of people?

Staring down at the blank face of the figure in the casket, one fear jumped to the front of his brain and pulled itself from his lips against his will.

“The unknown.”

The scene of the funeral melted away into darkness. He was left standing in a void once again, and the hand disappeared. He glanced around, trying to see anything in the shadows, but nothing presented itself.

 _What else?_ another voice hissed in his ear. He cringed away, but the voice only followed. _What do you fear?_ It sounded high and feminine, and another fear wormed its way through his lips.

“Women.”

The voice giggled and retreated into the dark. His stomach tied itself in knots. He didn’t like those voices. This was a mistake.

From the shadows, a chorus of voices whispered at him. _What else scares you?_ Along with the voices, dozens of distorted faces flashed just outside his circle of light, each one grinning with smiles that were much too wide. Their eyes were nothing but black holes, and he lowered his lantern so he wouldn’t have to see them.

“Crowds,” he blurted, his voice shaky. “People.”

One of the faces opened its mouth and began to laugh, its eyeless gaze fixed on him. Next to it, another face split into a fit of giggles. All around him, the voices raised into a cacophony of harsh laughter. A sense of panic clouded his mind and he stumbled back, trying to get away from the crowd. He bumped into something and whirled around. Another group of faces attached to nothing floated behind him, slowly moving forward and closing him in.

He took a step back and almost collapsed at the jolt of pain in his leg. His lips moved on their own as he spoke.

“Making a fool of myself.”

The faces began to melt away. One of them gave one last bark of laughter before fading into the shadows.

He swallowed nervously. Nothing appeared in the dark, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

Something shot out of the dark and collided with his stomach. Agony flooded his body as his stitches tore from his skin. A yelp left his throat as something wrapped itself around his torso and squeezed. His wound screamed in his side, and he grated his teeth to keep himself from doing the same.

_What are you afraid of?_

He clenched his jaw, sweat beading on his brow. “Pain,” he squeaked.

The thing released him and he collapsed to the floor, breathing heavily. He put a hand to his wound and felt blood soaking through his shirt.

Something grabbed the back of his hood and lifted him off the ground. His breath caught in his throat as his cloak pressed against his neck. The bullet casing clasp dug into his skin, cutting off his airway. He gasped for air and let go of his lantern to grab at his cloak. His lantern fell, and he didn’t know how far up he was until he watched his lantern fall to the ground below and shatter on the stone. Lion’s glowing mist dissipated and left him in darkness.

“Dying,” he choked.

The thing let him go, and his stomach flipped as he fell _upward_. His world turned upside down as he crashed into the ceiling. He groaned in pain. His stomach wound burned, and he placed a hand on it in a futile attempt to stop the blood. The blood trickled past his fingers and dripped to the floor below— or was it above?

He sat up and very carefully pushed himself to his feet. Somehow, he managed to stand on the ceiling perfectly fine. He clutched his cloak around his shoulders as the stifling darkness closed in on him.

“Darkness,” he whispered involuntarily.

The ceiling rippled beneath his feet, as if it was made of water instead of stone. He took a step forward and almost toppled over as the stone dipped under his boot. He stumbled, and his foot slipped on a sudden edge in the floor. He fell forward, and he found himself tumbling through the air once again, lost somewhere in the endless void. He crashed into what he assumed was the wall, knocking the breath from his lungs. He thought he was safe for a moment, but the stone under him began to move upward— sideways? — and random ledges poked up as if a set of stairs was forming beneath him. He grimaced as a ledge dug into his back. He didn’t know where he was in regards to the floor or the ceiling.

“Distortion,” he croaked. “Being confused. Not knowing where I am or what’s going on.”

The stairs stopped moving, and Danny was falling again. His stomach churned as he twisted in the air.

He slammed into the ground, and pure agony lanced through every part of him as a horrible crack echoed through the air. It took him a moment to realize that the cracking sound had come from him. Pain jolted through his chest and arm as he tried to move. That wasn’t a good sign.

A pitiful groan left his throat. He tried to sit up, but his body wouldn’t budge. He squeezed his eyes shut in an attempt to fight the pain.

“Daniel Rose Murillo, get the fuck up!”

His eyes snapped open at the vaguely familiar voice. The stone beneath him had been replaced by a soft bed. He was in a nice room covered in paintings and gilded mirrors. A luxurious lounge chair sat in front of the fireplace in the far wall. A teenage boy that looked all too familiar was busy rummaging through a wardrobe next to the door.

The boy selected some clothes from the wardrobe and tossed them on the bed next to Danny. “Seriously! God, ever since Mom and Dad died, you’ve been lazy as shit!”

Danny furrowed his brow. His parents had died when he was four. Why would someone accuse a toddler of being lazy?

He grimaced and raised his good arm to his chest. The wound in his stomach still spouted blood, and black spots danced in front of his eyes. He shut them to block out the light pouring in through the window.

A hand struck his face, and he flinched at the sudden pain. “God dammit, Danny! We still have shit to do! I’m going to be inheriting the entire fucking town in a few days, and you have to know how to do all this shit so you can do it if something happens to me! Now get up!”

Another hand gently touched Danny’s shoulder. _What are you afraid of, Rose?_

Danny took a shaky breath. “Responsibility.”

The scene melted away. The last thing to disappear was the teenage boy’s hand just as it reared back to smack Danny again.

Then he realized that the scene hadn’t completely faded. He was still in the fancy room, only now it was dark. Moonlight streamed in through the window. The fireplace was lit, casting a soft glow across the floor.

He took as deep of a breath as he could and shut his eyes, basking in the comfort of the soft bed and the peaceful silence of the room. The fire crackled in the fireplace, the only sound in the entire room aside from his own laboured breathing. He wanted nothing more than to let himself drift off to sleep and hope that this was just some crazy dream.

The crackling of the fire got louder. The sound spread from the fireplace across the room, and he furrowed his brow, wondering why the sound was moving. His muddled brain had trouble processing what exactly was happening, but when the smell of smoke met his nose, it clicked.

He opened his eyes to see the world enveloped in fire.

He was no longer on the bed. He’d been abandoned on a dirt path outside, surrounded by dozens of burning buildings. People screamed in the distance, and footsteps pounded nearby as a man sprinted across the path with a child in his arms. The child’s arm was red with burns. They wailed as their father held them close to his chest and ran down the path, completely ignoring Danny in his broken state.

Panic flared up in his chest. Not this. Anything but this.

He grit his teeth and braced his arms behind him. He pushed himself up with a great deal of effort, letting out a pained grunt in the process. He couldn’t stay here. Not again.

He stood with a grimace. His legs almost buckled, but he forced himself to stay upright. He started down the path. The sky was dark and thick with smoke, blocking any view he may have had of the night sky.

A wooden light post collapsed in front of him and he stopped in his tracks. The wood crumbled under the flames that licked up the post. It completely blocked the path ahead.

“Danny!”

Danny glanced back. The same teenage boy from earlier— who was, he noticed now, the same boy from the funeral— stumbled towards him from the other end of the path. He looked older now, like a grown up. His nice clothes were tarnished with ash, and he coughed into his fist as he slowed in front of Danny.

“Danny, are you okay?” he asked. He cupped Danny’s face in his hands and looked him up and down. He didn’t seem to find anything odd about Danny’s bleeding stomach wound or anything else, because the sigh he breathed was one of relief. “I don’t know how you got out of the house. One of the housekeepers dragged me out, and she wouldn’t let me come back for you, and— and I thought you were dead.” The man’s voice cracked on the last word. He wrapped Danny in a hug, ignoring the pained squeak Danny gave when he felt his damaged ribs bend.

The man pulled away and stared at Danny with tears in his eyes. Danny gazed back, knowing that he should know this man’s name and his role in Danny’s life, but his mind refused to give that information to him.

A voice hissed in his ear. _What else are you afraid of?_

Another strong fear welled up inside him. He shuddered at the thought of it, but the word was out of his mouth before he knew he was speaking.

“Fire.”

He blinked, and he trapped in the middle of a raging inferno.

Fire blazed all around him, stretching into the far reaches of the Restless Spire. The burning town was gone, but this was worse. There were no recognizable structures that he could see. Stone walls that shouldn’t have been burning appeared briefly through the flickering blaze, no visible doors or openings allowing him a way out. Smoke clouded the air. It flooded into his lungs as soon as he took a breath. A coughing fit wracked his body, jabbing his ribs with a red hot knife of pain every time his chest convulsed.

He collapsed to the floor, choking through the smoke for any hint of clean air. A realization flashed across his mind that this was the scenario he’d seen play out in his nightmare, but that was quickly pushed out of his head when another sharp pain prodded at his stomach. He had to get out. He couldn’t do this again.

Something shook the ground just ahead of him. He looked up to see a large shape looming above him through the flames. His heart pounded in his chest as the creature lowered its head to glare down at him.

A huge dragon broke through the fire. Its lilac coloured scales appeared almost red in the light, and its transparent yellow wings almost blended in with the orange flames. Its dark violet eyes narrowed at him. A person stood on the back of the dragon’s neck with a set of reins in their hands that were attached to the dragon’s antlers.

_What are you afraid of?_

Danny gulped. “Strangers,” he whispered.

More monstrous footsteps approached behind him, and he whipped his head around to see a large grey and white dragon with tall ridges lining its back. Its throat rumbled in a growl as it lowered its head and studied Danny with its bright orange eyes. On the dragon’s back, standing between two of the ridges, was a man with a revolver in each hand. A pair of goggles covered his eyes, and Danny couldn’t quite tell who it was. Was that the dragon rider they were chasing?

Dozens of fears flashed through Danny’s mind. Fire. Strangers. Unfamiliar dragons. Guns. Powerful dragon riders.

The grey dragon opened its mouth, and a plume of fire exploded from its maw. It washed over Danny, and the only thing in his mind was the raging pain that lanced through his body. Someone was screaming, but it didn’t even register that it was his own voice.

The pain stopped, but only for a moment. It returned full force once the fire left his body. It settled into his chest, his arm, his leg— everywhere. The screaming died out, only to be replaced with tortured groans. When would this stop?

A loud bang echoed through the room. He couldn’t raise his head to see what it was. He couldn’t even think about what it might be. Black spots danced in his vision, and he felt himself slipping into unconsciousness.

Another bang exploded through the air, as if something had crashed through the wall. The smoke slowly lifted, and he took a much needed deep breath. The fire sizzled around him and the heat died away as if someone had poured a giant bucket of water into the room.

Actually, it felt like that was exactly what had happened. Cool liquid pooled around him, lightly soothing his burns. His chest shuddered as he took another breath.

He pried his eyelids open for a moment. A gaping hole stood in the wall. Sunlight poured in from the sky, but it was slightly blocked out by a large blue dragon head. Orange wings rested on the dragon’s back. The name of the dragon was somewhere in Danny’s head, but he couldn’t quite remember what it was. The dragon’s attention was caught by a stray flame licking up the stone wall. It opened its mouth and sprayed a small stream of water at the fire to put it out.

A person ran under the dragon’s head and into the room. Danny didn’t see who it was. He just let his eyes close again.

Footsteps pounded across the wet floor as the person ran up to Danny. He skidded to a stop next to Danny. A hand lightly touched Danny’s face and he grunted in pain at the sudden contact.

“Can you speak?” a familiar voice asked.

Danny didn’t respond. He didn’t think he could if he tried.

Another pair of footsteps approached. “We gotta get him back to the house,” a hoarse voice said.

“I can’t move him,” the first voice said. “Something’s wrong with his ribs, and his shoulder is probably dislocated. It’ll just make him worse.”

“We can’t keep him in here,” a new voice protested. “Who knows what’ll happen?”

“This place is damaged enough,” the raspy voice responded. “It ain’t gonna cause any more problems.”

The hand moved from Danny’s face to his arm. Danny whimpered involuntarily as the person’s fingers brushed a patch of skin that sent a thousand needles of pain shooting through his flesh.

“I’ll fix him up,” the first voice said. “George, Matt, I’m gonna need you to get me as much aloe as you can. Mint too, if you can find it.”

“Gotcha,” the hoarse voice replied. Footsteps splashed through the shallow water as two people walked away.

Danny clung to the edge of consciousness, wracking his brain to figure out who this familiar voice belonged to. The name was right on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn’t quite grasp it.

The hand moved from Danny’s arm to his head and lightly ruffled his hair. “You’ll be okay,” the voice said softly. “Don’t worry.”

Those were the last words Danny heard before letting himself drift away.


	37. Disease

A piercing ache settled across Danny’s body as soon as he woke up. He let out a pained groan. He squeezed his eyes shut tighter and shifted on whatever he was laying on, but that only sent a jolt of pain through his body.

“Hey Danny,” a soft voice whispered.

A hand brushed Danny’s arm and he winced at the contact. “It’s okay,” the voice reassured him. “This is gonna help. Trust me.”

The hand travelled down Danny’s arm, leaving something cold in its wake and soothing the burning heat in Danny’s skin. A content sigh left his lips as the pain faded away.

“I’m gonna put some on your stomach wound too,” the voice warned. “I’m sorry, but I had to burn it again.”

Something cold touched a painful spot on Danny’s stomach. He grunted, but the pain quickly disappeared.

“I’ll bandage it up later,” the voice said. “We’ll let it breathe for now.”

A chill went up Danny’s spine, and he shuddered. He felt cold all of a sudden.

The hand pressed itself to Danny’s forehead. “You’ve got chills. Hang on.”

A chair scraped across the ground. Footsteps padded across the room, and they returned a moment later. A soft, fluffy blanket was laid across him.

“That should warm you up a little,” the voice said. “Just don’t move too much. I don’t want you to irritate those burns.”

Danny shifted on the bed, snuggling under the blanket. He relaxed into the mattress as sleep sneaked up on him again.

The hand returned and ran through Danny’s hair. “You’re okay,” the voice whispered. “Get some rest.”

A long, laboured breath left Danny’s lungs as he drifted off to sleep once more.

* * *

The next time Danny woke, the room was much louder than it had been before.

Two voices bickered back and forth nearby. Both were familiar, but Danny couldn’t place who they belonged to. He stirred in his spot on the bed and realized that he was resting his head on someone’s shoulder. As soon as Danny moved, a hand lifted from his shoulder and ran through his hair.

“It’s okay,” the soft voice whispered. “Go back to sleep. You need it.”

But the arguing voices across the room wouldn’t let him. His eyelids fluttered open, and he squinted in the dim orange sunlight that streamed through the window.

When he could finally see, he looked toward the fighting voices. Two men of near equal height stood near the far wall in front of a lit fireplace. One with dark shoulder length hair was making exaggerated gestures as he ranted in some language Danny couldn’t understand. The other had a sword at his hip and a shield on his back. It took Danny a moment to remember their names: Dylan and George.

 _“¡No podemos seguir así!”_ Dylan shouted. _“¡Danny está herido! ¡Él casi muere!”_

George stared at Dylan as if he had grown a second head. “Dylan, for the last fucking time: I. Don’t. Understand. Spanish,” he said, annunciating each word by snapping his fingers in Dylan’s face.

Dylan smacked George’s hand away. _“¡Jódete! ¡Perra egocéntrica!”_

Something moved at the side of the room, and Danny glanced over to see a man with a white dragon coiled around his shoulders leaning against the wall. Next to him was another man with curly black hair. Jorel and Matt. Both had bowls of soup in their hands. Matt leaned over to speak to Jorel.

“What the hell is Spanish?” Matt asked quietly.

Jorel shrugged. “I don’t know, man.”

Matt furrowed his brow, his gaze still fixed on the fight at the other end of the room. “Do they usually fight like this?”

“Not really,” Jorel said. “I mean, Dylan tried to pick a fight with him a couple days ago, but it didn’t escalate like this.”

The sound of a hand striking skin burst through the room. Danny turned back to the bickering pair. George’s head had whipped to the side, an angry red handprint on his cheek. Dylan grit his teeth and leveled his glare at George.

Dylan pointed to Danny lying on the bed. “Fucking _look_ at him, George,” he growled. “I _wanted_ to say something after the Grove of Loss. I _wanted_ to say something after Bullet’s Edge. Hell, I wanted to say something after the No-Way-Out Caves. But I didn’t. Because I thought, in the big scheme of things, my opinions didn’t matter. But fuck you, I’m saying it now.” He took a step towards George, who cast his gaze to the floor. “This is _bullshit_ ,” Dylan spat. “We can’t keep putting this hero business above ourselves.” He pointed to Matt. “I’m not getting him involved in this.” He gestured back to Danny. “And I’m not making him suffer through this.” His finger moved to Jordon. “Or him.” To Jorel. “Or him.” To Dove, Grenade, Lion, and Claire lying on the floor. “And they sure as hell don’t deserve this either.” He jabbed his finger into George’s chest. “This mess is yours and Monarch’s. Not ours.”

George’s hand closed on the pommel of his sword. “You chose to make this your mess,” he said quietly. He looked up into Dylan’s eyes. “I gave you a choice, and you said you wanted to be a hero.”

Dylan’s hand balled into a fist. “We didn’t think it would come to this.”

George didn’t break eye contact for a second. “Neither did I.”

Dylan’s face screwed into an infuriated scowl. He took a step forward, then back, clenching and unclenching his fists as if he didn’t know exactly what to do with them. Tons of emotions flashed across his face at once: rage, fear, distress, irritation, despair, guilt, and others Danny didn’t quite catch.

Dylan lunged forward and pushed George with all his strength. “ _¡Jódete!”_ he shouted as George stumbled back. _“¡Jodidamente te odio!”_

He stormed to the door. Matt and Jorel pressed themselves against the wall to avoid Dylan’s path. Dylan flung the door open and slammed it shut behind him, shaking the walls of the room. Danny heard another door open and slam as Dylan left the house.

George pinched the bridge of his nose with one hand. He stood there in silence. No one dared to speak.

Without a word, George unstrapped the sword from his belt. He walked over to the bed and held the sword out to whoever Danny was leaning on. Danny looked up and saw Jordon’s slightly shocked face attached to the body Danny was leaning against.

“I need you to hold onto this,” George said quietly.

Jordon hesitated. He looked into George’s eyes, and, as though because of some unspoken promise, he took the sword in its sheath and very carefully laid it on the bed next to him.

George turned and made his way to the door. “I’m going for a ride,” he said, his voice flat and emotionless. “Be back in a while.”

He left the door open behind him.

The four of them sat there in silence. The faint sound of Dylan shouting at George outside was barely audible through the window in the stone wall. Dove and Grenade both whimpered and scrambled to their feet. They ran out the open door, on their way to calm down their companion.

Matt pursed his lips. “Well.” He looked at Danny. “You hungry?”

Danny hesitated, then nodded. He might as well eat something, since they obviously weren’t going to be leaving for a while now.

Matt turned and left the room. Jorel bit his lip and lowered his bowl of soup. He didn’t look particularly hungry anymore. Tiger leaned down and lapped at the broth.

Matt re-entered the room a moment later with a bowl in one hand and a plate in the other. “I made cheese-stuffed pretzels too,” he said as he walked over to the bed. “I brought you one. Claire says they’re really good when you dip them in the soup.”

Danny reached out to take the bowl and plate, but his right arm flashed with pain as soon as he moved it. He grimaced and glanced down. The entire limb was wrapped in bandages, from his shoulder to his knuckles. He flexed his fingers, and while the movement brought a bit of pain, he was just glad he could move them. He carefully took the bowl in one hand and the plate in the other.

Danny set the plate with the pretzel on his lap and held the bowl of soup in both hands. “Need help?” Jordon asked.

Danny shook his head. “No, I’m okay,” he rasped. His voice was almost as hoarse as Matt’s. His hand was shaky, but he managed to lift the spoon from the bowl and eat a mouthful of soup. He was lucky it wasn’t boiling hot. He didn’t need any more burns than he already had.

He looked up at Jorel. “How long has it been?”

Jorel brought out his pocket watch. “You went in there at maybe five p.m. It’s five a.m. now.”

Danny bit his lip. Had the others been awake all this time? He looked down into his soup. He couldn’t help feeling guilty. If he hadn’t gotten hurt, the others could have found the rider again and...

His eyes widened. He’d forgotten why he even went into the Spire in the first place. He was supposed to grab some sort of object so they could harness its power and defeat the rider easier. He’d been so caught up in his own fear that he hadn’t done what he was supposed to.

“Don’t worry, bro,” Jordon said, as if he knew exactly what Danny was thinking. “We took care of everything.”

He reached into his bag and took out a small cloth pouch. He pulled open the drawstring and dumped the contents into his palm. The twig from the grove of Loss, the rock from Bullet’s Edge, and the crystal from the No-Way-Out Caves tumbled out, and with them came another small object. It was a small piece of charred wood that looked like it had been broken off from a bedpost. A plume of ash floated from the black end of the wood, and a small flame briefly danced across its surface before flickering out.

“I found this on the floor next to you,” Jordon said.

Danny turned away from it. A feeling of shame crept up on him for failing to do his task.

“It’s fine, buddy,” Jordon said as he put the four objects back into the small pouch. He gently took the soup bowl from Danny’s shaking hands. “Here.” He raised a spoonful to Danny’s lips. “Bone apathy.”

“It’s bon appetite,” Jorel corrected with a sigh.

“Same difference,” Jordon scoffed.

Danny rolled his eyes at Jordon’s inability to say the phrase correctly, but he opened his mouth and let Jordon feed him a spoonful of soup. “I can feed myself, you know,” Danny said.

“Nonsense.” Jordon held up the spoon again. “Open up.”

Danny sighed, but he did as he was told. He swallowed another spoonful of warm soup, but the sound of Dylan shouting in another language was still audible from outside. Knowing that he had caused this by being hurt sent another shock of guilt and shame through Danny.

He looked up at Jordon. “Maybe I should go talk to Dylan.”

“I’ll do it,” Jorel offered instead. He raised his bowl to his lips and slurped up the rest of the broth. “You stay here.” He turned and left the room.

Danny reached out and took the soup bowl from Jordon’s hands. “Maybe you should find George. It’s not like I’m going anywhere.”

Jordon hesitated. He tapped his finger on the handle of George’s sword, deep in thought. “Yeah,” he said finally. He stood up, holding the blade in both hands. “Matt, you, Jay, and Dylan should get some sleep. You too,” he added, looking at Danny. He walked toward the door. “I’ll be back soon.”

Jordon left. The only sounds were the crackling of the fire in the fireplace and Dylan yelling in a mix of comprehensible words and random phrases in another language. It was hard to tell whether he was shouting at Jorel, himself, or George, who had likely flown away on Monarch by now.

Matt took a deep breath. “Well. I’m gonna go clean the kitchen.” He turned to the door and waved at Danny as he left the room. “Don’t die.”

Danny stared out the door and listened to the sounds of Dylan raging outside. “I’ll try,” he muttered.

* * *

A few hours later, Viral and Monarch swooped down into the Imperial’s Keep together. Saint had been having a nap outside the ruins, but she opened one eye and grunted as the two dragons returned. Jordon and George hopped off their dragons and made their way through the ruins towards Matt’s house, Jordon’s arm wrapped around George’s shoulders. George’s sword hung on his belt, back where it was supposed to be.

As soon as they got close to the house, the door whipped open and Jorel ran out, his eyes wide. “Danny’s gone.”

George and Jordon stopped in their tracks. “What?” Jordon breathed.

Jorel blinked at the ground as if he couldn’t believe it himself. “Danny’s gone, man. Me, Matt, and Dylan all went for a nap, and I woke up a minute ago, and Danny and Lion were gone. They’re just... not here.”

George furrowed his brow. He pulled away from Jordon and brushed past Jorel to get into the house. He shouldered open the door of the room Danny had been in, and sure enough, there was no sign of him. The bed was neatly made, and Danny’s old bloody clothes were nowhere to be seen. It was like he had never even been there.

“Shit,” George whispered.

Footsteps walked across the floor behind them. “What’s wrong?” Matt’s hoarse voice asked sleepily.

Jorel gestured into the room. “Danny’s gone.”

Matt blinked. He looked over George’s shoulder into the empty room. “What the...? Where the fuck did he go?”

“I don’t know, that’s the thing!” Jorel exclaimed. “I have no idea where he might have gone! It would take at least a day for him and Lion to get back to Sunset, so he’s gotta be somewhere around here, right?”

“Maybe we shouldn’t find him.”

The group turned around to see Dylan sitting up on the couch, rubbing his eyes as if he’d just woken up. “Maybe he just doesn’t want to be a hero anymore,” Dylan said. “Why shouldn’t we let him go?”

George sighed. “Dylan, I am less concerned about him being a hero and more concerned about the fact that he is severely injured and could possibly pass out from blood loss if he’s just wandering around on his own.”

Dylan pursed his lips, considering George’s words, then shrugged. “Good point.” He stood up. “So, where are we looking first?”

George turned to Matt. “You got a map?”

Matt shook his head. “Nope. But I do know where everything is. You and Monarch can check the Rolling Valley and the Holy Ghost Hills, just north of here. Dylan, you take the Death Zone. It’s way down south, but Grenade is a fast runner so you can get there quick. Jorel, you look in the Caves of Dark places out east. Jordon, you check the Canyon of Disease. Saint and I will take the Singing Forest and the Bleached Temple, and Claire can get to any of the places we miss. Got it?”

Everyone nodded. “Let’s go find this idiot,” George said.

* * *

Jordon scanned the ground relentlessly with his goggles as he and Viral flew towards the Canyon of Disease. Every minute they didn’t see Danny and Lion below, Jordon grew a little more worried. Danny had just gone through extreme physical trauma, and he was in no condition to be running around on his own. He had to be lying down and sleeping so he could heal!

But it wasn’t just Jordon’s concern about Danny’s physical wellbeing that made him so eager to find Danny. Jordon was also worried about Danny’s mental health. Jordon saw everything that had happened in the Restless Spire, and he couldn’t help but feel that Danny needed someone in his corner backing him up. The guy was terrified of everything, including people. If Danny disappeared and went back to isolating himself for another twenty years, nothing was going to get better for him.

Jordon gazed ahead with his goggles. He spotted a long crack in the ground way off in the distance. “Viral, I think I see it,” he announced.

Viral grunted in response. He began to descend as Jordon sat back and lifted his goggles. He didn’t know why Danny would run away like this. Was it something Dylan said? Was it because Jordon saw all of his fears in the Restless Spire? What had happened to make Danny want to leave the team?

Viral lowered himself to the ground and landed close to the edge of the canyon. It was much wider than the Undead Chasm. It looked like Saint and Monarch could stand side by side in this canyon with their wings spread and not even touch the edges.

Jordon lowered his goggles over his eyes again and peered into the canyon. “Danny!” he shouted. “You in there?”

His voice echoed off the rock. He waited for a response, but none came.

He sighed. “Let’s go in.”

Viral launched off the edge and soared into the canyon. Jordon held tight to the ridge in front of him as Viral clumsily lurched through the air. He stumbled in the landing as they settled on the floor of the canyon.

Jordon patted Viral’s side. “Nice landing, buddy.” He slid off Viral’s back and looked around. The cliffs towered on either side of them, but it didn’t feel as stifling as the Undead Chasm.

“Danny!” he yelled again. His voice reverberated throughout the canyon, making it sound as if a thousand Jordons were shouting all at once.

Jordon sighed. It didn’t seem like Danny was anywhere in their close vicinity. Should they walk the entire length of the canyon until they reached one end? Should they split up so Viral could search in once direction and Jordon in the other?

Viral grunted and nudged Jordon with his nose. He nodded towards a crevice in the wall. Jordon spotted a long shiny tail with a golden tuft of fur on the end poking out of the rock.

Jordon and Viral exchanged a hesitant glance, but they both walked towards the hole in the rock. The tail flicked as if it was luring the two over before it disappeared into the wall.

Jordon put a hand on the wall and peeked into the hole. “Danny?”

A dragon squeaked from inside the hole and poked its head out. Lion nuzzled Jordon’s arm and purred, her metallic fur gleaming in the morning sun.

Someone sighed from inside the small cave. “Go away, Jordon.”

Jordon gave Lion a quick scratch on the head. He brushed past her and stepped into the cave.

Danny sat on the floor, his book in his lap. His lantern had shattered in the Restless Spire, but Lion’s glowing mist trailed through the small crevice, lighting it up enough that he could read. He didn’t even glance up as Jordon came in.

Jordon strode over to Danny. “Dude, why did you leave? You’re in no condition to be running around on your own.”

“I have Lion,” Danny pointed out in a deadpan voice.

Lion huffed and rolled her eyes. “I don’t _need_ people,” Danny argued back to his dragon.

Jordon knelt next to Danny and started digging through his bag for his mortar and pestle. “I gotta check your wounds, man. At least let me do that.”

Danny clenched his jaw, but he didn’t protest. He hadn’t bothered to put his shirt back on after he left, which Jordon was glad for, because he didn’t have to risk irritating Danny’s injuries trying to roll up the sleeves. He unpinned the bandages on Danny’s arm and unwrapped them.

“Why did you leave?” Jordon asked quietly. “Was it something Dylan said? I’m sorry if it was. The guy doesn’t always know when to be quiet—”

“He just spoke his mind,” Danny snapped. He shot a glare in Jordon’s direction. “There’s nothing bad about that.”

Jordon ignored Danny’s outburst and examined the skin on his hand. The flesh was a burning red, and it weeped as Jordon removed the bandages. Danny grimaced at the light friction.

“These are some bad burns, man,” Jordon muttered as he set the used bandages aside. “You really should have stayed where I can keep an eye on you.” He grabbed some aloe from his bag and began crushing it up in his mortar.

“I’m fine,” Danny protested, but Jordon held up a hand to stop him.

“No, you’re not. You’ve got an arrow wound in your stomach, another two in your leg, a healing dislocated shoulder, second-degree burns on your arm and first-degree on your leg, bruised ribs, and a lot of emotional turmoil.” He looked straight into Danny’s eyes. “You’re the opposite of fine.”

Danny avoided his gaze. “Maybe that’s why I left,” he muttered.

Jordon paused just as he was about to pour some water into his mortar. “What do you mean?”

Danny sighed. “Dylan... was right. I didn’t ask to be part of this. I thought this whole hero business might be a few battles here and there, and then I could go back home.” He shifted his burned arm. “I didn’t think I’d get burned again. I didn’t think I would face every single fear I’ve ever had.” He swallowed. His gaze was still fixed on the ground. “I don’t think I want to be a hero anymore,” he whispered.

Jordon bit his lip and proceeded to pour a little bit of water into his bowl. “Well... either way, I’m gonna have to take care of you. It’s not like you can do much hero stuff in this state anyway. Maybe you can just chill out in Matt’s house, and—”

“No,” Danny interrupted. “I mean it. I’m not a good hero. I run away from danger, I get hurt, and I drag everyone else down. If I stay with you guys in this condition, the dragon rider could take advantage of that. He could take me hostage or something. I don’t know. I’m scared of what might happen to me if I stay.”

Jordon blinked. “You seriously think you’re not a good hero?” He shook his head in disbelief and mixed up the aloe and water in his mortar. “Dude, being a good hero doesn’t mean being a good fighter— and you are good at that, I’ve seen you with that crossbow. Being a hero means knowing when to back down and when to take your time. Sure, we could have won this whole thing back in the Swan’s Nest, but George would’ve hated himself for killing the dragon rider in a blind rage. George could have killed us too. _You_ stopped him. You knew when to back down when George didn’t, and he’s supposed to be the best hero out of all of us.” He scooped some of the aloe mixture out of the bowl. “Now stay still.”

Danny did as he was told as Jordon spread the medicine across Danny’s arm. “It’s not just that,” Danny said quietly. “I’m fucking _scared_. I don’t know what’s going to happen next or if one of us is going to die. Dylan was right when he said we’re putting this hero thing above ourselves. I can’t keep doing that. I never wanted to be a hero in the first place, and I still don’t. I just want to go home.”

Lion whimpered and licked Danny’s hair. Jordon pressed his lips into a thin line, considering Danny’s words. He wasn’t wrong. They were putting their roles as heroes above their own wellbeing. They had all gotten hurt on this adventure. Hell, Jordon almost jumped off a cliff.

But in a way, hadn’t this whole quest helped all five of them? They had all been alone before, but now they had each other. He’d only known the others for about nine days, but he couldn’t imagine being without them. Not only that, but they’d met countless people and dragons on their journey. Jordon even talked to a woman. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d spoken to anyone other than Dylan before he became a hero.

“I could do without the whole ‘saving the world’ thing,” Jordon agreed. “But it brought the five of us together. If I hadn’t met all of you...” He shrugged. “I wouldn’t be doing any better than I was before. I might have killed myself by now. Who knows?”

Danny was silent as Jordon carefully rewrapped his arm. “You... you really are suicidal?” he asked finally. “It wasn’t just Bullet’s Edge fucking with you?”

“It’s a long story,” Jordon admitted, pinning the bandages back into place.

“Will you tell me?” Danny asked curiously.

A slight grin twitched on Jordon’s lips. “I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours.”

Danny sighed. He studied Jordon’s face in the dim light of Lion’s fading mist. “What exactly do you want to know?”

Jordon held up Danny’s wrapped arm. “You said you didn’t think you’d get burned _again_. When was the first time?”

Danny stared at his arm and bit his lip. “So, I tell you why I’m scared of fire and you tell me why you’re suicidal?”

“Yep.”

Danny slowly flexed his fingers on his injured arm. “It’s probably time I told someone anyway,” he muttered. His voice shook a little as he spoke.

“I can go first,” Jordon offered.

“Doesn’t matter,” Danny said, which was shy person speak for “I would love it if you would go first but I don’t want to sound pushy by outright telling you to go first, so I’m going to say it doesn’t matter while silently hoping that you do go first.”

“Alright.” Jordon shifted in his seat to get more comfortable as Lion blew another stream of glowing mist on the ground. He wasn’t exactly sure how Danny would react to Jordon’s story. The fact that he used to be an executioner wasn’t exactly information that he threw around lightly. He didn’t know if Danny would hate him for it, or feel sorry for him, or just get awkward the way Danny usually did when he was uncomfortable. Jordon’s heart pounded faster as he considered the different possibilities, most of them bad.

However, he figured he could trust Danny with this secret. Danny was nice. He wouldn’t push Jordon away.

Jordon gently rolled up Danny’s pant leg to examine the bandages and took a deep breath. “I used to be an executioner,” he said. “A dragon executioner.”

Lion squeaked and looked at Jordon with wide eyes. Viral poked his nose into the cave with a surprised grunt and stared at his companion.

Danny furrowed his brow and bit his lip. “You serious?”

Jordon shrugged. “Yeah. I mean, that’s not the only reason my self-esteem hit rock bottom. I had problems way before I was an executioner. I became one because I felt so shitty about my life and I wanted to do something good.” He began to unwrap Danny’s bandages. “I had no idea I was killing innocent creatures.” He looked up at Viral. “That changed when a baby dragon broke into my house and lived there for a week.”

Viral blinked. He brought his nose out of the cave and glanced behind him, as if there was another dragon nearby that Jordon might have been talking about. He stuck his snout back into the cave and tilted his head.

A smile spread across Jordon’s face. “Yes, I’m talking about you, buddy.” He turned back to Danny’s burned leg. “After Viral visited me the first time, he would come back with small injured dragons for me to help. I got attached to him, and one day during an execution, I just dropped my axe and left. I felt so awful about everything I did, I considered finding the nearest cliff and throwing myself off. Luckily, Viral came in with a few more dragons, so I didn’t get the chance. I left the town with Viral, and we’ve been companions ever since.” He sighed, spreading aloe paste onto Danny’s leg. “I still feel horrible about everything I did. My head keeps telling me I’m a bad person and that I don’t deserve to be a hero. I feel like I don’t even deserve to be alive. That’s why I give my guns to George sometimes. So I don’t do anything to myself that I won’t be able to fix.”

They were both silent as Jordon grabbed his roll of bandages. Jordon waited for Danny to say something with an increasing sense of anxiety. Did Danny hate him? Maybe telling him about this was a mistake.

“That’s quite a story,” Danny muttered. “I definitely get why you’re upset about it.” He shrugged. “But I don’t think you’re a bad person. I mean, you regret it, and it’s not like you do that anymore.”

Jordon breathed a sigh of relief. “Yeah. I know that, but I still feel shitty.” He wrapped up Danny’s leg and pinned the bandages in place. “Your turn.”

Danny chewed his lip and tapped on his uninjured leg. “Well... you saw what happened in the Restless Spire. My town burned. I was the only survivor.”

“But how did it end up burning?” Jordon asked.

Danny took a shaky breath and looked down. “It was a fire dragon about Viral’s size. A bunch of dragon hunters went out and captured it, but they couldn’t restrain it, and...” He spread his hands. “The whole place went up in flames. Houses collapsed, everyone was screaming, people were burning in the streets...” He swallowed. “My... my brother died in front of me.”

Jordon’s eyes widened. “That’s who that was?”

Danny raised an eyebrow. “What, that wasn’t obvious?”

“I ain’t that observant.”

Danny shook his head. “Whatever, man. But yeah, that was my brother. He wasn’t the best, but he was all I had after my parents died.”

“How the hell did you survive?” Jordon asked. If everyone else died, what had happened that somehow made Danny the sole survivor of this tragedy?

Danny glanced at Lion. “Well... Lion found me. I was wandering around the streets on my own. I could barely walk because my leg was burned— this same leg, actually,” he said, tapping one finger on the bandages Jordon had just pinned. “It was hard to breathe from all the smoke. My brother had just gotten crushed in a burning house trying to save some people who were inside. I collapsed in the street. All I remember is seeing the big fire dragon roaring in the middle of the town and blowing fire everywhere, and then there was a flash of gold, and I woke up on a half-burned bed in one of the houses. Lion sat next to it.” He reached over and scratched Lion on the head. “I don’t exactly know what happened. Lion says she hid me from the fire dragon and kept me safe until it left. I was unfamiliar with dragons and thought she was going to kill me, but it didn’t take long for me to grow attached to her.” He sighed. “I would be dead without her.”

Lion purred and nuzzled into Danny’s hand. Jordon nodded as he considered Danny’s story. That explained why he saw Jordon and Viral in the Restless Spire as one of his fears. It was no wonder why he was afraid of fire.

Danny heaved a great sigh. “That’s pretty much it. I know I shouldn’t be scared of all fire dragons because of what one of them did, but sometimes I just can’t help it.” He shook his head. “I can’t keep doing this. I’m scared of everything. This whole hero thing is killing me.”

“It’s killing all of us, man,” Jordon reminded him. “We’re all kind of in the same boat. You’re not in this alone. We can protect you, even if you don’t want to be a hero. Please come back to Matt’s house with us. Even if you don’t want to be a hero, you should stay where I can keep an eye on you.”

Danny stared into Jordon’s eyes. “I’m too scared,” he said quietly. “I don’t want to be part of this anymore. I only stayed because I thought I had to, but... I got burned. I can’t do this again.”

Jordon reached out and grasped Danny’s uninjured hand with both hands, giving Danny his best puppy dog eyes. “Please? Come on, man, we need our dragon tamer.”

Danny studied Jordon’s face, and Jordon silently hoped that Danny would agree to come back. Danny didn’t seem to know that he was the glue holding the team together. He diffused arguments, kept George from killing them in the Swan’s Nest, and tamed dragons that were afraid and ready to kill them. They would be dead without Danny.

Danny pulled his hand away from Jordon. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I just can’t.”

Jordon’s spirits deflated as Danny reached into his bag. He pulled out something gold and shiny, and Jordon realized with a start that it was Danny’s cloak that he’d gotten back in the Guardian’s Keep. He leaned down and picked his golden crossbow off the floor. He held the neatly folded cloak and the crossbow out to Jordon.

“Give these to Matt,” he said. “He deserves them more than I do.”

Jordon shook his head in disbelief. “No. Danny, those are yours.”

“No they’re not,” Danny insisted. “Please, Jordon.”

Jordon gazed into Danny’s warm hazel eyes, trying to see if he meant it. “You’re serious?” he muttered, his shoulders slumping at the sincerity in Danny’s stare.

Danny nodded. “Take them. Give them to Matt.”

Jordon hesitated. He couldn’t help but feel that this was wrong. Those belonged to Danny, not Matt. Danny belonged with them, not on his own.

However, he took the cloak and crossbow in both hands. Danny pushed himself to his feet with a grimace, shouldering his bag. Lion stood up with him.

“Thanks for patching me up,” Danny said as he and Lion made their way to the entrance of the small cave. Viral moved his snout out of the way as they approached.

Jordon shot to his feet and ran after them as they left. He emerged in the sunlight and stared at the two as they walked down the floor of the canyon. Danny limped along, leaning on Lion for support.

Jordon couldn’t let them leave without saying something. “Wait!” he shouted before he could sort out his thoughts in his head.

Danny and Lion paused. Danny glanced back and waited for Jordon to speak.

Jordon opened his mouth, then closed it. He wanted to try convincing them to stay, maybe at least give them a proper farewell before they left.

He glanced down at the bundle of gold in his arms. “Maybe... maybe we’ll see you around?” he asked hopefully.

Danny pressed his lips into a thin line. He turned back around, and the two continued on. He didn’t answer.

Jordon watched them walked away. The morning sunlight ricocheted off Lion’s metallic fur, and Jordon couldn’t help but think that it would have been a much prettier scene if Danny’s cloak was shining on his back.


	38. Live Forever

Jorel almost tumbled off Dove’s back as she landed back in the Imperial’s Keep. He gave her a pat on the head, muttering a quick thanks before he and Tiger hopped onto the ground.

“No sign of him?” Matt asked as he scratched Claire on the head.

Jorel shook his head. “Nothing. The Caves of Dark Places are just full of shadow dragons.”

George sighed. “Fuck. Where the hell could he be?”

“Maybe Jordon found him,” Dylan suggested. “He’s been gone for a while. Maybe Danny collapsed somewhere and Jordon’s fixing him up.”

George furrowed his brow. “You don’t think the dragon rider got him, do you?”

“Shit, I hope not,” Dylan whispered. “We don’t need a dead Danny on our hands.”

“I’m sure he’s fine,” Jorel said, trying to reassure himself as much as the others. “We’ll just wait for Jordon and figure things out from there.”

Matt squinted into the sky. “I think that’s our homeboy.”

The others followed his gaze. A grey and white shape swooped down, and Viral landed in the grass. Jordon sat on his back, cradling something in his hands.

The others rushed up to them. “Did you find him?” George asked.

Jordon nodded. His lips were pulled into a frown, and his downcast gaze gave the others a bad feeling.

“Is he okay?” Jorel said.

“He’s alive,” Jordon answered. He slid off Viral’s back.

“Where is he?” George pressed. He didn’t see Danny anywhere nearby.

Jordon sighed. “He left.”

Jorel furrowed his brow. “Like, he went back to Sunset?”

Jordon nodded. “He was hiding out in the Canyon of Disease. He and Lion are leaving now.”

George’s heart sank at the realization that they were back to only five heroes. “Well, we should all go find him. Maybe we can convince him to—”

“No,” Dylan snapped, interrupting George in the middle of his sentence. “Come on, man, just let the guy live. He’s been through enough. If he doesn’t want to be a hero, then we shouldn’t force him to be one.” He turned away and crossed his arms. “At least he has the balls to leave when I don’t.”

George opened his mouth to retaliate, but he had nothing to say. They were lucky Danny had waited to leave until they found another hero. Having four heroes when there were supposed to be seven wouldn’t end well for any of them.

George sighed. “You’re right. He’s doing what’s best for himself, and we don’t have any less heroes than we had in the first place anyway.”

Jordon stepped forward. “Um, he also gave me something.”

He held out his arms. Danny’s golden cloak sat there, and perched on top was Danny’s shining crossbow.

Jordon looked at Matt. “He told me you should have these.”

Matt blinked at the bundle of gold in Jordon’s arms. “I... I don’t know. Those are his.”

“He said you deserve them,” Jordon said. “Since you’re a hero now.”

Matt glanced at the others. They all stared at him with expectant eyes.

He sighed and stepped forward. He hesitantly took the cloak and the crossbow from Jordon’s arms, and as soon as he touched the gold, he knew that it was wrong. He wasn’t supposed to have them. The metallic cloth almost burned his skin, as if it was rejecting his entire presence. He didn’t want to use the crossbow. He already had his own bow and quiver that magically reloaded itself. He didn’t need an arsenal of long-range magic weapons.

However, the other four heroes were still staring. He heaved another sigh and took his bow and quiver off his back to remove his current cloak. “This is wrong,” he muttered in a last-ditch attempt to convey that he didn’t like this situation any more than he would have liked getting eaten by a dragon. He let his cloak pool around his feet and draped Danny’s around his shoulders. The bullet casing clasp burned his fingers as he fiddled with it. He slung his bow and quiver back over his shoulder, just for some sense of familiarity, before he hooked the crossbow on the side of his quiver. The metal singed his skin, and he jerked his hand away as soon as he was sure the weapon wouldn’t fall off his back.

He heaved a sigh and looked at the others. “This doesn’t feel right,” he said.

George shrugged. “If you’re gonna be a hero, you might as well look the part.”

Claire whimpered and nudged Matt’s hand. He couldn’t understand her the same way he could understand Saint, but he got the message well enough. She was worried about him.

Saint’s throat rumbled. _It doesn’t look right_ , she mused as she stared down at him with her head tilted. _It’s not you. Not to mention, it totally clashes with your shirt._

Matt snorted. “Thanks, Saint.” He turned to George. “So what now?”

George tapped his finger on the hilt of his sword. “When Monarch and I were flying to the Rolling Valley, I sensed something.”

“Another glowy cave?” Jorel asked.

“Probably,” George said. “I thought it was Danny at first, but it was just a slab of rock in the side of a cliff. I think that’s where we should go.”

Jordon gazed at the cloak around Matt’s shoulders. Matt could see it in his eyes that he found this situation just as wrong as Matt did, but neither of them said anything. Jordon just hopped up onto Viral’s back without a word.

Matt took a deep breath as the others hopped onto their dragons. He couldn’t shake the feeling that this wasn’t right, but he would just have to deal with it for now.

He walked up to Saint with Claire hot on his heels. “Let’s saddle up, girls.”

* * *

Matt held tight to Saint’s reins as the group flew towards whatever George had sensed. Saint flew at the back of the group this time, which Matt was totally fine with. He gazed out at the land with a content feeling. He and Saint didn’t often go flying together. He usually stuck with Claire, since she was faster and could bolt over to the Underground if they needed food or supplies for anything. Besides, riding Saint all the time would call too much attention to them. Sometimes, he just wanted to fly around the Land of the Dead without being swarmed by curious dragons.

But he could never really see the land from this height without his view being reduced to a blur by Claire’s speed. On Saint, he could see everything. He spotted the Wisecrack Fields way off in the distance, and the River of Tainted Love snaked through it from the ocean. It was a pretty sight.

 _Matthew_ , Saint’s voice rumbled. _Are you alright?_

He sighed. Of course Saint could tell when he wasn’t okay. “No,” he admitted. The crossbow weighed on his back like it was trying to drag him down, and the cloak’s heat seared through his shirt, just hot enough to make him uncomfortable. “I don’t like this. These aren’t mine. I shouldn’t have them. They’re Danny’s.”

 _Well, we chose this,_ Saint reminded him. _We want to be heroes, so heroes we are. And if that means you have to wear a cape that doesn’t match your shirt, then so be it. Maybe you should wear a black shirt instead._

Matt rolled his eyes. “It’s not the fact that it doesn’t match my shirt. It just doesn’t feel right.”

Saint was silent for a second. _I get it,_ she said finally. _It doesn’t look like it was made for you. You don’t look comfortable wearing that. It really does belong to Daniel. He’s still a hero, whether he wants to be or not._

Matt nodded. He just couldn’t take Danny’s place. Replacing a dragon tamer with a rider and two dragons wouldn’t work. They had to get Danny back somehow. Even while Danny was unconscious, the entire team of heroes fell apart. Dylan and George were at each other’s throats, Jorel wandered about aimlessly with no drive to do anything, and Jordon was too busy refusing to eat or sleep to try breaking the bickering pair up. The one time Matt tried to interject in Dylan and George’s fight, he was rewarded in his efforts with an annoyed sigh from George and shouting in a language no one understood from Dylan. The most Matt could do was give Jorel a bowl of soup and make light conversation while all the shit went down.

 _It’ll be okay,_ Saint said. _You’ll find your place in the group. You’re not useless, you know._

“Only because I have you,” Matt muttered.

Claire scoffed from where she was soaring alongside Saint. She darted over to Matt and grunted at him, giving him a light swat upside the head with her tail.

 _She says you’re very useful_ , Saint translated. _You have good combat skills, you can cook, you can bake, you’re good at cleaning, and you can fix stone houses that have been ruined for centuries. You shouldn’t doubt your self worth, you idiot._

“I didn’t think I was an idiot.”

Saint’s huge shoulders rippled as she shrugged. _Claire’s words, not mine._

He fixed his gaze straight ahead as the Guardian began to descend. He had to stay focused. Danny may have given him his cloak, but he couldn’t replace Danny. He would have to be his own kind of hero.

Whatever kind of hero that was.

The group landed in the grass in front of a cluster of tall cliffs poking out of the ground. Saint craned her neck to see over them, like she did every single time they passed by this area, and growled in disappointment when she found that she wasn’t taller than the cliffs. Matt held tighter to the reins so he didn’t fall off as she desperately tried to peek over the tops of the cliffs.

George clung to Monarch as his dragon did the same. Matt snickered at the sight of the legendary dragon rider flailing to stay on his dragon. Maybe wanting to be taller than everything was a Great Dragon thing.

Monarch and Saint finally lowered their heads to let their passengers off. “So, the dragons can’t come with us?” Matt asked, recalling what George had told him yesterday when he told Matt the story of their adventure.

“Nope,” George answered. “These caves are just for us.”

Tiger grunted. She leaped off Jorel’s shoulders, and she squeaked when she tumbled to the ground instead of landing on another dragon’s back. She blinked and glanced around, then whimpered.

Jorel leaned down to scratch her on the head. “Sorry, Lion isn’t here.”

Tiger coiled up like a snake and huffed in displeasure. A dragonfly fluttered past her face and she snapped at it.

Jordon gripped his bag with both hands and stared at the wide path between the cliffs. “So, what is this place?”

“The Forever Trail,” Matt answered.

Jordon blinked and whirled around to face Matt, almost like he’d been expecting Danny’s quiet voice to answer instead of Matt’s hoarse rasp.

Matt pretended that he didn’t notice. “These cliffs formed ages ago. This path has always been here, at least as long as I have. Some people say it goes on forever, hence the name.”

George stepped onto the path. “The cave was a little ways in. We won’t be walking for too long.”

They followed George into the mess of cliffs. Matt took his bow off his back, just to feel the familiar grip in his palm. Danny’s cloak weighed on his shoulders like it was made of real gold. He tried to ignore the feeling and instead tugged on his bowstring to keep himself distracted. Having to separate himself from both Saint and Claire was odd. He was so used to having one of them at his side at all times.

George gazed around the cliffs. “It should be somewhere around here. I feel it.”

Jorel gave a slow nod. “Me too.”

“My head’s getting buzzy,” Dylan mumbled. “Is this what sensing things is like?”

“Yep,” Jordon said. He looked through a gap in between two cliffs. “It feels like it’s close.”

Matt idly tapped his finger on his bow. He didn’t feel anything. Maybe it was because he was new to this hero thing. It made him feel a little bit like he wasn’t truly part of the group. The team felt incomplete without Danny’s presence.

George’s gaze fixed on a gap between two cliffs and stopped in his tracks. “Found it.”

The others crowded around him and peered into the gap. There wasn’t much to see, but the others seemed to think otherwise. They started towards the gap and Matt followed behind them.

George sidled his way into the gap. Matt stayed at the back of the group as they followed. He didn’t know what would be waiting for them in this cave. Sure, George said that there were ghosts in most of them, but would this ghost want to talk to him? Would it want to talk to one of the others? What if there wasn’t even a ghost in there?

He shook himself out of his thoughts and stepped through the gap after the other four. He kept his bow in his hands. He didn’t want to let go of the one familiar thing he had with him. This situation was strange enough as it was.

They stopped in front of a tall slab of grey stone in the side of one of the cliffs. Matt still didn’t feel any buzzy feeling in his head, but the other four all leaned forward a little, like the rock was pulling them towards it. George reached out and touched the stone, and a blue handprint appeared beneath his palm.

Dylan sighed. “Here we go again.” He laid his hand to the left of George, and a glowing green print lit up in the rock.

Jorel and Jordon went over to Dylan’s other side and pressed their hands onto the rock. Soft red light glowed from under Jorel’s hand, and the rock under Jordon’s hand lit up orange.

Nothing happened.

George turned to look at Matt. “I don’t think it’ll open unless you do it, too.”

Matt swallowed nervously. The four of them had lined up perfectly just so there was a gap between Jordon and Dylan. He couldn’t help but feel that they purposely left that space blank for Danny, and he didn’t want to take it.

Instead, he took his place on the other side of George. Standing there felt much more right than being directly in the middle. He raised a hand and placed it on the rock. Under his palm, a handprint appeared, glowing with a dim violet light.

Dylan leaned past George to look at Matt’s hand. “Huh. You’re purple.”

The rock trembled. The five of them backed away as it slowly rose into the cliff. Dust trickled down from the dirt in the cliff, and Jorel raised his arms to protect himself from it.

The shaking stopped. They all looked up at the large doorway in the cliff. Matt peered inside. It was pitch black, but he spotted the silhouette of a staircase leading down into the cave.

George put his foot on the first step. “Let’s go.”

The other three followed. George raised his hand and let it trail along the wall, leaving bright blue glowing streaks behind and lighting up the cave a little. Dylan followed suit, but he put both of his hands on the walls and swept them up and down to make large waves in the rock. Jordon smacked his hands on every blank space with a grin, and Jorel just traced Dylan’s lines with one finger as he walked.

Matt took a deep breath. Whatever happened in this cave would be totally fine. He was a hero now. There was nothing to be afraid of.

He stepped onto the stairs and touched the wall with one hand. Purple fingerprints appeared under his skin.

“Whoa,” he muttered.

He stared ahead at the others as they doodled on the walls. Colourful graffiti littered the rock, lighting up the once dark cave.

He swiped his hand in an arc. A wide purple streak curved across the stone. He grinned. The other heroes mentioned being able to draw on magical caves with their hands, but he didn’t think it would look so _cool_.

He hopped down the steps after the others, dragging his hand along the wall. Jorel seemed preoccupied with drawing little symbols and doodles on the walls, while Jordon was busy swiping stripes and swirls on the rock. Dylan and George walked side by side down the stairs, but Dylan kept to the left and George to the right. Neither of them spoke, so Matt figured they were still upset with each other over their fight earlier. A tension buzzed between them, and Matt decided that he didn’t want to be any closer to them than he already was. He got the feeling that another fight could break out at any second.

George and Dylan hopped off the last step. Blue and green swirls twisted across the floor and walls of the room at the bottom of the stairs. Jordon jumped off after them, sending orange lines across the stone, and red lines snaked after them as Jorel stepped into the room.

Matt hesitated on the last step. He placed his foot on the stone floor. Purple light bloomed from where his foot touched the stone and swirled across the room. He gazed in awe at the multicoloured lights brightening the dark cavern. Being a hero was totally worth it if he got to see this.

Then he noticed the smoke rising from the violet lines on the ground. His heart skipped a beat and he nocked an arrow into his bow. “What the fuck is that?”

George’s hand tightened on the pommel of his sword. “One of the heroes.”

The smoke twisted into a humanoid shape. George had said that the old heroes were harmless, but Matt stayed near the staircase with his bow raised, just in case.

A loud gasp echoed through the room, and Matt realized with a start that it had come from the smoky silhouette. “Oh my _god!”_ a hoarse feminine voice shouted. The shape darted over to him in a flash. “I _love_ your hair!”

Matt blinked. “I’m sorry, what?”

The shape’s hand reached out and touched Matt’s hair. “It’s so fluffy and curly! Is that natural, or do you use some sort of product?”

Before Matt could even come up with an answer, the shape grabbed him by the arms. A smoky cloak drifted off her shoulders, and her eyes glinted beneath the hood. “And... holy shit, you’re the companion of the Imperial! How much more perfect could you be?” She looked at George, who was staring at her with wide eyes. “Can you read my mind? You picked the _perfect_ guy to take my place! He’s got nice hair, he’s a rider, he’s got a Great Dragon, and—” She stopped mid sentence. “Wait a fucking second.” She bolted over behind Matt, and he felt her lift up the end of the cloak on his back. “What the fuck is _this?”_ She shot an accusatory glare at George. “This is totally wrong! This isn’t mine! Did you give him the wrong cape?” She grabbed Matt’s shoulder and spun him around so he was facing her. “You did go to the cave in the Guardian’s Keep, didn’t you?”

Matt blinked, trying to process everything that had just happened. “Uh, no,” he said finally.

The hero threw her hands in the air. “Well, what the _fuck_ then?” She grabbed Matt’s wrists and held up his arms, which were still holding his arrow in his bow. “You’ve got my bow and arrows, but—” She stopped again and lifted Matt’s quiver. “This ain’t mine either!” A weight lifted off his back, and he glanced back to see the misty hero holding Danny’s crossbow in her hands. “Why the hell do you have these? We don’t use crossbows, and that cloak does _not_ match with your shirt!”

Matt sighed. “Yeah, I know. One of the others gave these to me because he didn’t want to be a hero anymore.”

The hero’s shoulders slumped. “Are you serious? He’s just bailing?” She groaned. “God, he was supposed to _be_ here! The hero before him died here, too! So did our dragons, of course, but mine is too shy to actually introduce herself— sorry about that— and the hero with the light dragon was supposed to come here and talk to the previous one, along with their dragons! This is the _one_ cave where dragons can enter without invitation from a ghost, and the dragon tamer just isn’t going to show up? That’s bullshit!” She sighed and hooked the crossbow back on Matt’s quiver. “Fuck,” she said, the first word she’d said so far without yelling. No wonder her voice was as raspy as Matt’s.

She drifted away into the middle of the room, shifting her gaze to George. “I’m assuming you know the drill? Get the fuck out so I can talk to my boy?”

George nodded once. “Got it.”

He started up the stairs again, and the others trailed after him. Dylan glanced at the purple hero and shot Matt a sympathetic look before he jogged up the stairs.

The hero crossed her arms and looked Matt up and down. “Well, you’re certainly going to be a good hero,” she mused, tapping her foot. “You’ve had the bow for a few years. I guess it didn’t go back to the cave where it was supposed to go when I died. You don’t have the cape, but that can be fixed with a visit to the Guardian’s Keep. You’re capable of doing what you need to in order to achieve your goals, you’re determined to be a good hero, but...” She nodded slowly. “You’re just uncertain. You don’t know what to do or who to be now that you’re a hero. You were always prepared for this possibility, but you didn’t think you’d be replacing someone else.”

Matt didn’t exactly like that this person could just read his entire life, but she was right. “None of this feels right,” he confessed. “I’m never going to use that crossbow, and the cape—”

“Is absolutely awful, I know,” the hero finished. “It’s so flashy. It’s not meant for you.”

“I don’t know what to do,” Matt said. “They want me to replace the hero that left, but I can’t do that.”

The hero kept tapping her foot. “Well... what do _you_ want to do?”

Matt hadn’t even considered that. He wanted to help the heroes, but that was all he was going off for everything he’d done since he met them. He was really just doing whatever he was told. Maybe that was okay with Danny, but it wasn’t okay with him.

“I want to be a hero,” Matt said. “But not the way they want.”

The hero nodded. “There you go. Don’t be a replacement. Be your own hero.”

Matt took a deep breath. “Yeah. I’ll try.” He reached back and took the crossbow off his quiver. He unclasped the cloak on his shoulders and held it in his hands. “I can’t keep these.” He looked up at the hero. “Do you think he’ll come here?”

The hero shoved her hands into her pockets and rocked back and forth on her feet. “Not sure. Maybe he will, maybe he won’t. Guess we’ll see.”

Matt set his bow and the crossbow down so he could fold the cape. Somehow, he had a feeling that Danny would find his way into the cave.

“Would I be able to leave these here?” he asked.

“Whatever you feel is best,” the hero rasped. She nodded towards the staircase. “You might not want to keep your fellow heroes waiting. Something big’s gonna happen soon, and I get the feeling you guys won’t be prepared for it if you don’t have that other hero.”

Matt furrowed his brow. What could possibly be happening next? Was the dragon rider going to attack?

He set the cloak on the ground and placed the crossbow on top of it. He looked back up at the hero. “Well... bye then.”

She waved. “Good luck.” She melted into smoke.

Matt stared down at the cloak and crossbow on the ground. He hoped that Danny would be able to find his way to the cave. If they didn’t have Danny... well, he didn’t know what would happen to the rest of them.

He turned and jogged up the steps after the others.


	39. I'll Be There

The cave was quiet. The five heroes had long gone, off to find the dragon rider that was set on eradicating dragons from the realm. They chose not to seek out the hero who had left them, despite their leader’s reluctance to let him go. They simply left the Forever Trail and its towering cliffs behind in favour of searching for the rider who had been the cause of so much anguish for the brave team of heroes.

The door to the cave had closed once again, blocking out the natural sunlight, but the glowing drawings on the walls were enough to illuminate the cave. However, it wasn’t nearly as bright as it would have been with the yellow handprints of the runaway hero. The discarded cloak and crossbow sat on the stone floor among the swirls of light, waiting for a hero that may never arrive.

Minutes passed after the heroes left. Then hours. What they were doing in that time, no one really knows but them.

The rest of the dragons in the Land of the Dead only saw the occasional companions flying around with their dragons. At one point, the Guardian and the Imperial settled in a field with their riders. The Imperial’s rider was speaking about a glowing hero in a cave, and he mentioned that “something big” was going to happen, but most dragons abandoned the conversation and turned back to what they were doing before.

A flock of forest dragons were roaming the Holy Ghost Hills as a large ridgeback fire dragon landed nearby. Three human passengers sat on its back, one of them with a long white dragon twined around his shoulders. Another companion sat between two black dragons, one with a yellow underbelly, the other with green stripes trailing down its scales. The last companion sat in the middle, a pair of goggles perched on the top of his head. The flock of forest dragons crept closer to listen to whatever the three were discussing. The man with the goggles looked down at his hands, which shook as he spoke. They caught snippets of his words; he said something about “executioners” and “wounded dragons”. The dragons caught the word “suicide” somewhere in the midst of his sentences, and they knew that this companion was not happy. The man stopped speaking and was silent, as if waiting for the other two companions to respond, and the forest dragons figured that he needed some cheering up. They tromped up to the group and squeaked, asking for attention, because what better way to make someone happy than with some animal therapy? Moments later, the three companions were all petting the dragons with smiles on their faces.

Some of the dragons in the land had seen a metallic golden dragon with another companion wandering about, but most of them didn’t approach. The companion was badly injured, so none of the dragons wanted to disturb him or the dragon he was leaning on for fear that they could somehow make his wounds worse.

Through all of this, the cave remained empty.

That is, until a man with blond hair limped off the last step and entered the cave, a golden dragon at his side.

* * *

Danny tapped his fingernails on his crossbow as Lion trotted through the Rolling Valley. He sat on her back, which had been her decision, not his. He told her he was fine to walk on his own, but she insisted that he take a break to give his legs a rest.

He hadn’t put his cloak back on, even after speaking to the hero in the cave. He didn’t even know why he’d gone to the cave in the first place. He wasn’t a hero anymore, and no amount of glowing yellow lines and magical caves would change that.

The dead hero’s words didn’t change his mind, either. He mostly just repeated what Jordon had said earlier about Danny being a good hero. “George chose you for a reason,” he’d said, petting the ghostly yellow dragon standing next to him. “You just need to think about what the reason might be. You’re essential to the team. They fell apart while you were unconscious. Even now, they’re struggling without you.”

“But Matt’s a better hero than me,” Danny had protested. “He has two dragons, and one of them is the Imperial. I can’t do what he does. He can take my place.”

“You may not be able to do everything he can, but he can’t do what you do for the team,” the hero had said. “They would be dead by now if they didn’t have you. Dylan and George could have killed each other in the Graveyard of Broken Parts if you hadn’t stepped in.” The hero shrugged, a white smile peeking out from the shadows of his hooded cloak. “You’re the glue that holds them together. Don’t forget that.”

Danny didn’t believe the hero, of course. Danny wasn’t important. He was just there in the background, with no useful skills to contribute to the group. George was the best warrior and their leader, Dylan brought everyone’s spirits up when they were down, Jordon was the only healer, and Jorel was their jack-of-all-trades, able to handle any situation that was thrown at him. Danny didn’t contribute anything useful to the team, so why did it matter that he was leaving?

The hero just shook his head at Danny’s words. “Go check on them,” he advised. “If they really are doing okay without you, feel free to go home. If they’re doing and saying things they’ll regret later on, then you’ll see why they need you.”

With that, the hero had disappeared into yellow smoke.

Danny reached into his bag and touched his cloak. He was so tempted to put it back on, but he refused. The hero said that Matt had left it in the cave for him, but he didn’t know why. Danny didn’t deserve it. He shouldn’t be a hero.

He shifted his hand past the fabric and closed his fingers on his book. He pulled it from the bag and flipped it open, skimming the pages about the Land of the Dead. It certainly was an interesting place. The sheer amount of land made it possible for dozens of different environments to coexist and allowed dragons of all kinds a place to stay. He would have liked to explore more of it, but he was eager to return home.

He flipped to the page with the map as Lion trotted along. Shallow Man’s Peak stretched into the sky right in front of them, and with another glance at his map, he figured that they were close to the Broken Heavens. He flipped to the page on the Broken Heavens and scanned the paragraphs. Luckily, it didn’t seem to be dangerous. The book said that it was a collection of snowmelt water pools clustered at the base of the mountain.

Danny looked up at the sun. They’d been walking for a few hours now. Maybe they could take a break.

He held the book out so Lion could see it out of the corner of her eyes. “You think we should stop here?”

Lion turned her head to read the page. She grunted and nodded once.

Danny put the book away again. His hands automatically drifted to his crossbow. He idly plucked at the string as Lion jogged over a small hill. They reached the top and saw a small cluster of trees squished at the base of the mountain. Lion slid down the hill towards the trees, and Danny held tight to her fur so he didn’t fall off.

She hopped off the hill once they were close enough to the bottom. She jogged up to the trees and entered the tiny grove without hesitation.

In a clearing within the trees, a dozen pools of water sat in the ground. Dragons milled about, splashing through the water and squawking playfully at each other. A few of them glanced up as Danny and Lion entered the clearing, but most seemed generally uninterested in the arrival of these two strangers. The trees stretched above them and branched over the entire clearing, blocking out most of the sunlight aside from a few beams that streamed through the leaves.

Lion walked up to one of the pools. Fire and desert dragons paddled through the water. One orange eyed dragon dipped its snout under and blew out of his mouth. The fire that would have erupted from its throat dissipated the moment it touched the water, and bubbles rose up from the pool around it. Steam drifted through the air. A water dragon ran up to the pool and dived right into the centre, splashing the rest of the dragons with warm water.

Danny smiled at the sight of all the dragons having fun with each other. It was good to know that the dragon rider’s reign of terror hadn’t spread everywhere yet.

His spirits sank when he realized that it wouldn’t remain that way. The rider was set on getting rid of _all_ dragons, and judging from the way he and his dragon had almost defeated both Saint and Monarch in a battle just the day before, it seemed like he wasn’t far from achieving his goal.

Lion jogged over to another pool full of water dragons. She lied down and Danny slid off her back to sit on the ground. He grunted as he landed in the grass, but the stitches in his stomach held.

Lion stood up again and lowered her head to the water. She stuck her snout in, but she snorted and jerked her head back up, sniffling and hacking through the water she had no doubt tried to inhale. She looked back at Danny with an incredulous look, as if she was asking him why she couldn’t breathe underwater like the water dragons paddling around in the pool.

Danny fought back a chuckle as he hooked his crossbow on the side of his bag. “You don’t have gills, buddy.”

Lion huffed in disapproval and sat back. A water dragon the size of Tiger slithered up to her through the water. It looked up at her with wide blue eyes. She leaned down to sniff at it.

The dragon opened its mouth and sprayed a small stream of water at her. She skittered away and shook the water from her head as the other water dragons chirped in amusement. She gave a quiet growl, narrowing her eyes at the dragons in the pool.

Danny couldn’t help but laugh. “They’re just playing, Lion,” he said.

She scoffed in annoyance. She sat down in the grass and looked down her nose at the water dragons, her chest puffed out arrogantly.

The Tiger-ish water dragon placed its front paws on the ground and lifted itself out to look at Danny. It leaned forward and snuffled at his legs, lingering over a splotch of blood left behind by the torn arrow wound in his thigh. It whimpered and nudged his leg.

He winced a little at the sudden contact, but he reached out and scratched the dragon on the head. It purred and nuzzled into his hand.

Fiery pain bloomed in his arm and he shrieked. He jerked away from the dragon and clutched his arm close to his chest. The burning agony in his skin yanked him into another time, morphing the calm scenery into crumbling buildings and raging fires, the dragons into people, their excited squawks into panicked screams, the water pools were gone, the trees were burning, the _houses_ were burning, fire licked up the stone walls of the Restless Spire, he was trapped in smoke, a fire dragon loomed out of the flames, it crushed a burning house beneath its feet, his arm burned, the town burned, the trees burned, the Spire burned, his brother was dead, everyone else was dead, he was going to die—

A shiny golden dragon darted into his view. It whined and nudged him with its snout, and he scrambled away from it, mind muddled with panic. What if it killed him the same way the fire dragon was killing everyone else in his town? But no, he knew this dragon, he _knew_ her, but he couldn’t place who it was or why he was friends with a dragon or why the burning houses turned into trees or why there were other dragons here or why he was in a stone room that shouldn’t have been burning or why this dragon was so familiar and yet strange at the same time or...

He hugged his knees to his chest and gazed at the raging fires around him, his mind filled with absolute terror. His leg was burned. He couldn’t get up and run away. He just had to stay there and hope the fire dragon in the middle of the town didn’t make its way over to him. A pit of despair settled in his stomach. Everyone was either dead or dying. Even if he survived, there would be no one else left. He was the only one.

He didn’t know how much time had passed before the scene of the small grove and snowmelt pools returned. His arm screamed in agony, and when he moved his uninjured arm, he realized that he’s been clutching his burned skin in an iron grip. A pained groan escaped his lips as he let go. His fingernails had dug into the weak skin, leaving behind crescent-shaped indents in his bandages.

He looked up at the cluster of trees and pools around him. Most of the dragons had continued splashing in the water, but a small group of them had gathered around him. They looked up at him with concern in their eyes when he moved. One with orange eyes whimpered and rested its head on the ground, staring up at Danny with wide eyes. Danny knew that guilty look. This dragon must have accidentally blown a plume of fire in his direction.

He reached out and pet it on the head, feeling its scales beneath his hand. The feeling helped ground his mind to where he was. There was no fire. He wasn’t in danger. He was in a small forest. There was water. There were dragons.

A familiar whine echoed through the air. He looked up to see Lion sitting further away from him, head tilted with worry. She seemed hesitant. Danny knew why. He was shaking, there were tears on his face, and he had skittered away from her when she tried to come close. A pang of guilt worked its way into Danny’s heart. He hadn’t meant to push her away.

He raised his arms and made grabby hands at her, silently telling her it was okay to come close. She trotted over and he wrapped his arms around her, trying to ignore the pain in his injured arm as he did so. She whimpered and curled around him in the grass. He rested his head on her back. She draped a wing over him and licked at his hair with a quiet whimper.

He wiped at the tears on his face. God, how long had it been since something like this happened? Six months? A year?

He stayed snuggled up to Lion for a while. He gradually stopped shaking, and the other dragons around him clustered close to the pair. The Tiger-ish water dragon nudged his hand and grunted. He gave it a scratch behind the horns.

The water dragon turned and slithered back into a water pool, but it glanced back at Danny and squeaked like it was asking him to join it in the water. A couple other water dragons chirped at him expectantly.

He hesitated, but he gently pushed Lion’s wing off of him. He scooted forward and dipped his hand in the water. It wasn’t freezing, but it wasn’t hot or even warm, so it wouldn’t irritate his burns. He tugged off his boots and lowered himself into the water. The ground dipped down into a deep pool, and he could just barely touch the bottom floating a foot away from the edge. The cool water soothed his burns through the bandages, and he let out a content sigh. The long water dragon paddled up to him and crawled up onto his shoulders. He raised his good arm to pet it on the head.

He looked up at the dragons as they all frolicked around the pools. A shadow dragon trotted up to Lion and nudged her. She huffed, but she let it sit next to her. A snow dragon and a fire dragon jogged over to a pool together, squawking in conversation. A hatchling with pink eyes scampered across the ground, and a larger dragon that Danny assumed was its adoptive mother ran after it with an alarmed squeak.

Danny watched them, and once again, his heart ached thinking about the what the dragon rider wanted to do. What if he really did win? What if he really did manage to kill all the dragons in Angeles?

Danny couldn’t help the feeling of shame that crept over him. George had chosen him to be a hero, and he bailed on the team right when things were getting drastic. The dragon rider had a Great Dragon, and Saint and Monarch probably wouldn’t be able to defeat them unless they went into their last resort defence mode. All three Great Dragons locked in that sort of battle could cause devastating destruction.

The water dragon on his shoulders whimpered and looked at him with wide eyes, silently asking him what he was worried about. He just scratched it on the head and reserved himself to his own quiet thoughts. He glanced back at his bag. His crossbow gleamed in a beam of sunlight that streamed through the trees. A corner of shining gold fabric poked out of his bag. It glinted, tempting him to take it out of the bag and drape it around his shoulders.

He stared at the shining gold, and the water dragon poked its nose into his line of sight. It nudged his head with its nose, and Danny understood its unspoken question.

_What are you going to do now?_


	40. Down For The Count

Jordon spun the chambers on one of his revolvers. “This is the worst fucking idea ever.”

Dylan glanced out from behind the tall stone wall they were using as cover. “You got a better one?” he whispered.

Jordon sighed, but he shook his head. He didn’t have a better plan, and he was the one who came up with this awful one. That was the problem.

Saint could still feel where the dragon rider was because of her territorial instincts as a Great Dragon, which meant that they could easily find him anywhere in the Land of the Dead. Of course, the five heroes had taken a break to come up with a plan and relax for a while before they did anything, but as soon as Saint sensed something powerful close to the Keep, they decided to spring into action.

Which was why Jordon and Dylan were currently keeping watch behind a wall in the ruins around the Imperial’s Keep.

Jordon had come up with this stupid plan just hours earlier. The dragon rider was too strong now, and they couldn’t defeat him with brute force alone. They needed the element of surprise to catch him off guard. He had said a while ago that he could have used Monarch and George with him, so there was a small chance that he would like other allies. As soon as Jordon mentioned this to them, both Matt and George offered to pretend to be interested in helping with the rider’s cause, but it be way too suspicious if the leader of the group tried to join the dragon rider. And if Matt flew down to the rider and his dragon with Saint, the rider would attack them immediately without question. There was no way that either of them would be able to fool him, so it had to be one of the other three.

Jordon offered to pretend to join the rider, since he was the one who came up with the plan in the first place, but Jorel and Dylan quickly shut that down. Considering Jordon’s past, it would make no sense if he suddenly did a one-eighty and decided that he hated dragons again. It wouldn’t work for Dylan to do it either, since the rider had kidnapped Grenade just days earlier and Dylan now hated the guy’s guts even more than he already had.

So that left Jorel to be their decoy. He figured he could pretend that he still thought the dragon rider was Aron and offer to join him to lure the guy into a false sense of security before the others struck. And if the dragon rider somehow _was_ Aron and he revealed his identity, or if he wasn’t and straight up told Jorel he was delusional for thinking that, then at least they would know whether Aron was trustworthy or not— y’know, if they ever saw the guy again. What was Aron even doing all this time if he wasn’t the dragon rider? Chilling out in the Swan’s Nest and raising baby dragons?

Dylan nudged Jordon. “Homie. They’re coming.”

Jordon snapped out of his thoughts and peeked out from behind the wall. A large white shape was flying through the orange sky. Jordon’s grip tightened on his gun as it got closer.

The shape settled somewhere in the ruins. Jordon could still see the tips of the white dragon’s new horns above the buildings. Its spiky quills shone in the setting sun, and Jordon spotted the silhouette of a person standing among them, holding the set of reins that were tied to the dragon’s horns. The dragon lowered its head to sniff at something. Jordon silently prayed that it couldn’t smell them. If it found out that they were there, the entire plan would fail.

His heart pounded as the dragon grew closer. It hadn’t changed much since the day before, but it was still a drastic difference from how it looked before the Jailer had died. He found it mildly distressing that this dragon had lost both of its front arms because of whatever magic its rider was using to make it like this.

“It looks horrifying,” Jordon mumbled to Dylan.

Dylan’s gaze was fixed on the dragon as well. “Yeah. I mean, Matt told me that dragons usually go through big changes if they turn into Great Dragons. Saint said that she used to look like Tiger.”

Jordon blinked at this piece of information. Comparing Saint and Tiger in his mind, he could hardly believe that a dragon as small as Tiger had turned into the Imperial.

“But this one ain’t right,” Dylan continued in a hushed voice. “Somethin’s wrong with it. He said Great Dragons usually get those white spikes— y’know, the ones Monarch and Saint have on their backs. They don’t get all... porcupine-ish.”

Jordon looked at the razor-sharp quills on the dragon’s back. “It definitely doesn’t look right,” he mumbled.

The dragon’s footsteps shook the ground as it approached. Jordon couldn’t see Jorel anywhere, but he hoped Jorel wouldn’t back out of the plan. They needed this to work.

The dragon stepped over an archway and tromped into the Keep. Its throat rumbled as its white gaze scanned the land. Jordon and Dylan quickly ducked back behind the wall before it could spot them.

Its footsteps got closer. _Come on, Jorel,_ Jordon thought frantically. _Any time now._

“Hey Aron.”

Jordon breathed a sigh of relief at the sound of Jorel’s voice. He peeked out from behind the wall to see Jorel standing at the edge of the ruins. Tiger was draped around his shoulders as usual. Jordon hoped Jorel was a good enough liar to fool the dragon rider for a few minutes.

The rider tugged on his dragon’s reins, and they turned to face Jorel. “Decker,” he said. He didn’t react to Jorel calling him Aron, which was frustrating to Jordon. Couldn’t he at least give them a hint as to whether he was Aron or not? If they didn’t get anything else out of this stupid plan, couldn’t they at least get that?

The rider glanced around the Keep. “So, where are your friends?” he asked.

“Looking for you,” Jorel said. “The Imperial and the Guardian are checking out the Restless Spire again.”

The ride nodded. “Right. I passed by and saw the mess you all made.” A piercing anger made its way into his voice. “Because it was broken, I couldn’t get what I needed.”

“Danny went into the Spire,” Jorel said. “He got something you might need.”

The rider was silent for a moment. “Are you offering to bargain?” he asked quietly.

Jorel shrugged and scratched Tiger behind the horns. “Maybe.” He dug into his pocket and pulled out the small cloth bag with all the objects from four of the most dangerous places in Angeles. “You dropped this in the Smoky Sands. George figures we can harness the same power you’re using so we can defeat you.”

The rider scoffed. “Really? Using all five relics from each place is going to mess with a person’s head. I don’t think your brave leader is going to be very stable if he tries.”

Jorel furrowed his brow. “It messes with a person’s head? Why are you using them, then?”

The rider shrugged. “To achieve my goal. I want power, and I’m going to get it.” His dragon growled in agreement. “Either way, you can’t exactly spread the power between all six of you. It will enhance you separately, but using them together on one person is the only thing you can do to even try defeating me.”

Jorel tossed the cloth pouch idly from one hand to the other. “So... quick question. Using the magic from these things gives you the power to enchant the dragons in your army with that grey magic that George’s sword has?”

The rider nodded once. “And the power to choose a new Great Dragon to replace one that’s died.”

Jorel leaned against an archway and stared at the ground, as if considering his options. Jordon had to remind himself that Jorel was only acting.

Jorel looked up at the rider. “I want to make a deal with you, Aron.”

The rider snorted at the name. “What makes you think I’m Erlichman?”

Jorel shrugged. “Just a guess.” He stepped away from the ruins and reached into the bag. He pulled out the small piece of wood from the Restless Spire. Flames licked up its side, and smoke drifted from the blackened end. “Either way, I’ve got what you want.”

The rider glanced down at his dragon. The dragon looked up at him and shrugged. He turned back to Jorel. “What do you want in return?”

“To join you,” Jorel stated simply. “I never wanted to get dragged into this hero business in the first place. After seeing what happened to Danny in the Restless Spire, I think I’m done with it. This shit is too risky. We’ve almost died countless times, and I don’t want to be on the losing side. Besides, having that much power, or even just a little bit of it...” He shrugged. “It’s tempting. If we manage to kill one of the other Great Dragons, Tiger wants to take their place.”

Tiger purred in agreement. She raised her head to look at the dragon rider, her chest puffed out proudly. Jordon was a little surprised to see that she was as good an actor as her companion.

The rider stared at Jorel and Tiger in silence. He tapped his dragon’s neck with his foot and the dragon lowered its head. The rider hopped off and took a few steps closer to Jorel. He glanced back at his dragon, then turned back to Jorel. The sincerity in Jorel’s eyes must have looked real enough, because the rider shook his head with a small laugh. “Holy shit, you’re really being serious.”

“Dead.” Jorel held up the piece of wood. “I give you this, we both get power. Deal?”

The rider seemed to consider it for a moment. Jordon drew his other gun and carefully pulled back the hammers with his thumbs. Dylan flicked his wrists and his daggers shot into his hands. Jordon watched as a white dragon with orange wings crept up towards the rider’s dragon through the ruins. It opened its mouth and shadowy mist spilled from its maw and gathered around the feet of the new Great Dragon. Through the darkness, a black shape with barely visible yellow horns tromped around, spraying green mist around the rider’s dragon. Dark shadows drifted through the ruins, clouding everything in darkness. Neither the rider or the dragon noticed. They were both focused on Jorel.

The dragon rider shook his head. “Fuck it. Sure.” He stepped forward and held out a hand for Jorel to shake. “Let’s do it.”

Jorel hesitated, but he reached for the rider’s hand.

A bolt of fire rained down from the sky and slammed into the ground. The green mist caught and flames bloomed in the Keep. The white dragon shrieked as fire blazed across its scales.

The rider whirled around just as a monstrous dragon darted from the sky and crashed into the white dragon. Saint planted one back foot on the dragon’s back between its quills and pushed it into the ground as the flames licked up its body. It screeched and wriggled beneath her grasp.

A large blue shape swooped down and blasted the white dragon with a stream of boiling water. The flames flickered out, but the steaming water must not have felt much better. It thrashed frantically, its screeches turning into panicked squawks.

“NO!” the rider shrieked. He ran for his dragon, but Jorel slammed the pommel of his spear into his back and the rider went down. Dylan ran out from behind the wall and whipped his daggers at the rider, catching his wrists with the chains and holding him in place. The rider desperately tried to pull away, but he stopped short when Jordon approached with a gun aimed straight for his head.

“Don’t move,” Jordon ordered.

The rider looked from Jordon to his dragon, chest heaving. Viral landed next to Saint, flames flickering in his maw. He shot a plume of fire at one of the dragon’s flailing wings and it screeched in pain.

Dylan tugged on the chains so the rider’s arms twisted behind his back. The rider struggled to get away. “You’re going to kill him!” he screamed at George and Matt. “Stop! Get off of him!”

The dragon squawked at the sound of his companion’s voice. He twisted under Saint, trying to catch a glimpse of his rider, but Monarch blasted him with another stream of water.

The rider yanked on the chains, and Dylan held on tighter. “Stop it! Stop it, please!” The rider’s voice broke at the end of his sentence. _“Shade!”_ he screamed.

Jordon faltered. He didn’t think the dragon had a name.

The dragon screeched in panic. Viral paused and looked up at Monarch, who narrowed his blue eyes and growled at the white dragon. He didn’t seem intent on stopping at all. Neither did Saint.

Viral whimpered and stepped away. Jordon exchanged a glance with Dylan and Jorel. The uncertainty in their eyes reflected Jordon’s own doubts about this plan.

“Let him _go!”_ The rider struggled harder, straining against Dylan’s chains. “Please! Stop! Don’t do this!” he pleaded. “You’re hurting him! You’re supposed to be heroes! You’re not supposed to kill dragons!”

Saint and Monarch didn’t seem to hear him. Saint snarled and opened her mouth. Her throat glowed purple, readying a blast of powerful breath at the white dragon squirming in her grasp. Monarch did the same.

Something thudded into her hide and she grunted in surprise. She lifted her head and scanned the sky, searching for whatever had hit her.

Another tiny missile pierced into Monarch and he squeaked in alarm. He and Saint glanced around in confusion.

A shining golden shape swooped down from the sky and landed in the grass. “God fucking dammit, what the hell are you guys doing?” Danny shouted from atop Lion’s back. His cloak fluttered on his back, and he held his crossbow in both hands. He nocked back the bowstring again as he looked around, processing the scene in front of him.

A balloon of happiness swelled in Jordon’s chest as soon as he spotted Danny. “Danny!” he shouted with relief.

Danny didn’t seem to hear him. He heaved an exasperated sigh. “How long has it been since I left? Six hours? I can’t leave you alone for fucking half a day without you pulling some stupid shit! What the hell is _this?”_ He swept his arm towards the white dragon, who was still pinned under Saint’s full body weight. “This is fucking absurd!” He turned and looked at the dragon rider, who had stopped struggling and was staring at Danny in what Jordon assumed was shock. “And this is just awful. Dylan, let him go!” He looked back at the Great Dragons. “George, Monarch, step away! Saint, Matt, get off him! And don’t make me tell you twice!”

Monarch blinked, but George tugged on the reins and they stepped back. Saint stared at the tiny dragon tamer, probably wondering how the hell he had the nerve to yell at the Imperial and her rider, but she and Matt reluctantly stepped off the white dragon.

The dragon twisted around so he was standing. He looked at his rider and squawked. Dylan’s chains untangled themselves from the rider’s wrists, and the rider rushed towards his dragon. “Shade!” he sobbed.

The dragon purred as the rider stopped in front of him. Shade nudged his companion, and the rider scratched his dragon under the chin. “You’re okay,” he said softly, his voice thick with emotion. “It’s okay, buddy, I got you.” The dragon purred in response.

Monarch and Saint both backed away from the rider and his dragon, sharing a confused look. Saint growled at the dragon, but an arrow whizzed from Danny’s bow and zipped past her ear.

“Don’t,” Danny ordered.

Saint blinked, but one expectant look from Claire convinced her and Matt to back down. They stepped away, still gazing at the rider with suspicion written on their faces.

Danny slung his crossbow onto his back as Lion trotted up to the dragon rider. She stopped and Danny carefully slid off her back, grimacing from the pain in his leg. “Hey,” he said to the rider. His voice had gone from firm and commanding to quiet and soft, as if the dragon rider was a piece of glass that would shatter if someone spoke too loud.

The rider whirled around as if Danny had just yelled at him. “What the fuck do you want, Murillo?” he snapped.

Danny took a deep breath. “I want to end this without violence. Trust me, if I knew this was going to happen, I never would have left. I should have stayed with the team and found a better way to work this out. For that, I apologize. This never should have happened this way. Please, let us fix this peacefully.”

Jordon could almost feel the anger radiating off the dragon rider. “You ‘heroes’ hurt my fucking dragon. What makes you think I will show you _any_ semblance of mercy?”

Danny’s gaze hardened a little. “If you’re looking at it that way, you’ve hurt us more than we’ve hurt you. We should be the ones who are mad here.”

The rider’s dragon growled. “Really?” He looked at Jorel, Jordon, and Dylan in turn. “Remember the Grove? Bullet’s Edge? The Caves? Take everything you fucking went through, and triple it.”

“You put yourself through that,” Danny reminded him. “We had no hand in it.” He took a step forward and held a hand out to the rider. “But that doesn’t matter. You don’t have to do any of this. We don’t have to fight. Come with us to Sunset. We can figure all of this out together.”

Everyone was silent. The rider raised a hand from his side and kept it close to his chest, as if he was hesitating to place it in Danny’s palm. He opened his fist and extended it a little, almost reaching out for Danny’s hand but not quite there. The others stared at the scene in awe. Had the dragon tamer tamed a dragon rider?

The rider paused, his hand still hovering close to his body. He clenched his fist, then opened it, clearly uncertain of what he was doing.

He stepped away and balled his fist. Two pinpricks of light shone behind his goggles as his dragon’s throat rumbled. “You don’t deserve mercy.”

Danny backed away. Jordon scrambled for his guns again, but before he could unsheathe them, the rider hopped onto his dragon’s back and picked up the reins. The dragon screeched as everyone skittered away. It opened its mouth, its throat glowing white, and in a flash of light, everything went dark.


	41. V

Matt groaned and opened his eyes. The moon shone in the night sky far above him. A dull ache settled in his bones, but he braced his arms on the ground behind him and pushed himself up so he was sitting, trying to ignore the way his head swam. Where was he? The last thing he remembered...

His memories came flooding back into his head. He was suddenly wide awake. He glanced around the Imperial’s Keep, surveying the damage.

A large crater had been gouged into the ground in the middle of the Keep. Some of the ruins had collapsed into it, but luckily, most of the archways and walls were still standing. Curled up in the middle of the crater was the newest Great Dragon. He raised his head and narrowed his white eyes at Matt with a quiet snarl. His rider leaned against him, and judging from the way his legs shook, it appeared that he had just woken up as well. None of the other heroes were anywhere in sight. Saint and Claire lied on the ground among the ruins, both unconscious.

Matt drew his bow and nocked an arrow. He aimed it at the dragon rider, ignoring the dragon’s growling. “Where are they?” he demanded.

The rider took a step forward, but he stumbled and almost fell over. He resigned himself to leaning against his dragon. “You’re fucking lucky that took the last of our power,” he snapped. “If we had any left, you’d be gone with them.”

His words only confused Matt further. “What the hell are talking about? Where are they? What did you do?”

The rider shook his head. “Good luck finding them. You can’t defeat me without them. Even then...” He shrugged. “You’d have a better chance rebuilding the Restless Spire.”

Matt just watched in bewilderment as the rider hauled himself onto his dragon’s back. “Have fun being the only hero left,” the rider called as he picked up his reins. He tugged on them, and the dragon shot into the air.

Matt stared after him and lowered his bow. What was he supposed to do now? Try to find the other heroes?

Saint stirred, but she didn’t wake. Claire, still asleep, curled up closer to Saint and snuggled into the crook of her neck.

Matt looked down at the bow in his hands. Something the old hero in the cave said came back to him. She mentioned going to the Guardian’s Keep, but for what, he wasn’t sure.

He stared down into the crater that had ruined the Keep. Maybe paying a visit to the Guardian’s Keep would shed some light on a few things.

* * *

The cave in Revolution Peak in the Swan’s Nest had been empty all this time. The dead hero that had spoken to Jorel Decker was long gone, resting in the ground once again. The colourful lines from the heroes’ venture into the cave still glowed with a soft light. Even the mounds of snow beneath the entrance sat undisturbed.

Well, until the door flung open and a skinny man fell in and landed face first in a snowbank.

A dragon with shining scales stuck its head into the cave and squawked. The man pushed himself to his feet, stumbling as he did so. “I’m okay, Nine!” he called to the dragon. He shook his head, snowflakes falling from his black hair. “Fuckin’ hell,” he muttered. He shivered from the snow clinging to his clothes. The skin on his bones and the thin fabric of his shirt weren’t nearly enough to keep him warm on the mountaintop. He probably should have worn his winter cloak.

Aron stared at the walls around him. Colourful glowing patterns decorated the stone, some of them mindless handprints, others careful waves and doodles. He spotted a red handprint amongst a collection of orange dots and walked over to it. Out of curiosity, he placed his hand over the red print. He took his hand away and stepped back in surprise. A glowing pink handprint covered the red one, his long fingers stretching over the red ones in the wall. A little bit of red light was still visible around the edges of his palm.

He furrowed his brow and stared at the prints on the walls. Were these all from other people?

He walked up to another wall and dragged his finger across the rock. A pink stripe was left in its wake.

“Whoa,” he muttered. He didn’t know he could draw on stone walls.

He walked up to a relatively blank area and scribbled his name on the wall with his finger. He put a smiley face on the end, just for good measure.

A smile stretched across Aron’s face as he made his way down the stone corridor, drawing little shapes into the walls. Something about the red doodles were oddly familiar to him. He found himself twining pink lines around the red ones and tracing the edges of the red shapes in his own pink light. The sight of all the glowing lines was quite pretty, he had to admit.

He reached the end of the corridor. Beyond it seemed to be an empty room, although swirls of multicoloured light twisted about the floor and walls, as if whoever had drawn on the stone in the hallway had frantically scribbled all over this room. He wasn’t quite sure why he came here in the first place, but he was glad he did. This cave was pretty.

He stepped in and yelped as pink lines bloomed beneath his foot. They twirled about, dancing through the entire cave and lighting it up even more. There didn’t seem to be anything here, so he was tempted to turn around and leave.

Mist rose from the pink lines on the floor and whirled together in the centre of the room. He drew his dagger and backed into the wall. What the hell was this? What was happening?

The mist collected into a vague shape of a person. More pink smoke rose up and twisted into a silhouette of a feathery dragon that looked similar to Nine. The dragon floated next to the person, its long lizard-like tongue flicking in and out of its mouth.

“Look who finally decided to show up,” a feminine voice snapped. It took Aron a moment to realize that it had been the misty pink silhouette that had spoken.

Aron’s grip tightened on his dagger. “What the hell are you?”

The floating shape scoffed. “Okay, wow. First of all, rude. I’m a ‘who’, not a ‘what’. Second of all, put that knife away. You’re supposed to be using my swords, not a tiny-ass dagger. You obviously haven’t visited the Guardian’s Keep yet. And third, to answer your question, I’m the hero who came before you, Aron Erlichman.”

The word “hero” struck a nerve in Aron. “Heroes?” he said, his eyes wide. “Are you fucking kidding me? This cave is a fucking hero thing?”

The dead hero spread her hands. “That’s just how it be sometimes, man. Point is, you’re here, which means you can obviously sense this place, which means you’re a hero whether you want to be or not.”

Aron shook his head. “No, I’m not,” he insisted. He was not getting mixed up in this hero business. Not after what that fucking lunatic George did when he and his group of subpar heroes visited the Swan’s Nest. Aron was no hero.

The hero shrugged. “Sorry man, but it’s pretty much been decided. I mean, you can still choose whether you get involved or not, but you’re one of them. Either they’ll find you or you’ll find them. It’s bound to happen eventually. You can’t let your hesitation get in the way of being friends with Jorel again.”

Aron tensed at the mention of his old friend. “How do you know about him?”

The hero drifted over and leaned her arm on Aron’s shoulder. Her dragon trotted up to Aron and rested its head on Aron’s other shoulder. “I can read your whole life, man,” the hero said. “You may be upset over what you think Jorel did in the Grove of Loss, but you gotta remember that the Grove fucks with your head. That shit wasn’t real. He never said anything you thought he did.”

Aron clenched his jaw. Deep down, he knew that, but he needed an excuse to stay away from those heroes. At first he’d thought the events in the Grove were real, but over the past week, he admitted to himself that it had never happened. Jorel didn’t hate him. There was no reason Aron had to stay away from him.

“You should go find him,” the hero advised. “But before you do anything, haul your ass down to the Guardian’s Keep. You’ll be able to figure out how to be a hero there.”

Aron crossed his arms. “What if I don’t want to be a hero?”

The hero stared at him. “Then you’re a fucking idiot.”

With that, she dissipated into pink mist, leaving Aron in a state of offended shock. He watched as the hero and her smoky dragon drifted back into the floor.

“Well, fuck you too, then,” Aron grumbled.

He turned his dagger in his hand and considered her words. If this cave really was a hero thing, and he had found his way to it without even meaning to, then maybe being a hero was what he was meant to do.

But the danger that came with it... he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to handle it. He would die in a second if he got stuck in a battle. He was too scared. And would the others even want him to be a hero anyway?

Nine squawked from the entrance through the tunnel. He glanced back. “I’ll be right there, buddy.”

He started down at the corridor again. He kept his hands off the walls this time, despite his temptation to colour the entire tunnel pink. He wanted to reach for the ceiling to see if he could touch it like George and Dylan could, or smack his hands over Danny’s yellow prints to see how big his hands were compared to Aron’s, or trace the outline of an orange star that Jordon had drawn. He almost found himself wishing he’d come into this cave with the other guys when they came to the Swan’s Nest.

But as he neared the opening of the cave, he pushed the thoughts out of his mind. He didn’t need to be a hero. He didn’t need to see Jorel again. He’d made his family with Nine and the other hatchlings he raised.

He didn’t need people.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm already busy writing the final two chapters and i feel like y'all are gonna HATE me for the ending


	42. Ghost Beach

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New Empire is so fucking good!!! Killin It and Nightmare are definitely two favourites for me, but all the songs are amazing in their own ways!!! 10/10 amazing album and i am so HYPED for Volume 2 whenever that comes out.

Whatever Danny was lying on was cold, which was welcome for his burns, but freezing wind whipped around him and send chills up his spine. He shivered and clutched his cloak around him in an attempt to keep himself warm. Flakes of snow struck his face, so cold it was almost hot.

He hesitantly opened his eyes, but all he could see was white. In a moment of panic, he thought maybe he’d somehow gone blind, but then the wind and the cold connected in his head. He was in the middle of a snowstorm.

He curled in on himself to keep in the little bit of body heat he had left. He was pretty sure he’d read somewhere that being buried in a snowbank was warmer than being out in the cold, but he wasn’t sure if he wanted to test that theory. He just snuggled further into the ground and tugged his hood over his face as best he could as he wracked his brain for some kind of explanation as to why he was in a blizzard.

The last thing he remembered was flying down into the Imperial’s Keep. He’d seen the scene from far above, and he was lucky he’d stopped the other heroes from killing that dragon. No matter how bad his rider was, he didn’t deserve to be companionless. And the way the rider had been screaming his dragon’s name... it reminded him too much of the way Dylan had shouted for Grenade back in the No-Way-Out Caves.

Danny may have cost them their victory, but winning by tricking someone and then violently murdering their dragon was not the way heroes should win. He didn’t regret intervening. Not one bit.

But that still didn’t explain why he was in a snowbank when he had just been in the Land of the Dead.

Danny waited for his eyes to adjust to the bright white of the snowstorm. He could barely see the sky through the snow, but it was dark from what he could see. He caught a glimpse of the moon for a brief second before it was obscured once again.

He very slowly sat up. He didn’t put his hands in the snow, because then they would just be wet and cold. He used one had to hold his cloak closed and the other to keep his hood up. He was lucky he’d put his shirt back on before he showed up in the Imperial’s Keep. If he was shirtless in this weather, he’d definitely have frozen to death by now.

He glanced around him for any sign of life or even a recognizable landmark. All that was there was a deep gouge in the snow that had been slightly smoothed over by the wind. The divot ended where Danny lay, making it appear as though he had fallen from the sky out of nowhere and slid to a stop when he hit a snowbank.

He grasped at his side for his bag and breathed a sigh of relief when his hand closed on the leather. He reached for his crossbow on his back and was glad to find that it hadn’t fallen off.

Danny wanted to dig through his bag for his book so he could figure out where he was, but he wouldn’t be able to read in this weather anyway. He could hardly see a foot in front of him, and the wind was so strong it could probably rip the pages form their binding.

He struggled to his feet. The wind threatened to tip him over, but he planted his boots in the snow and stood his ground. Where to go from here? Were any of the others around?

“Lion!” he called. “Dilly! Jordon!”

No response.

“George! Jorel! Fucking Matt, I don’t care! Is anyone here?”

His calls were met with nothing but the howling wind.

He sighed as he shivered. First things first: he had to find shelter from the wind.

He trudged through the snow with his cloak wrapped tightly around him. He desperately searched for any shape in the snow that might be able to get him out of the storm, but all there was were snowbanks that were being slowly shaved down by the wind.

He stepped on something and looked down. He shifted his foot to see a small piece of wood that looked like it had been broken off from a bedpost. One end was blackened with ash, and flames licked up the side despite the snow.

He leaned down to pick it up. The little bit of fire didn’t burn him, thank fuck. He didn’t need any more burns than he already had. It looked like the piece of wood that Jordon had found in the Restless Spire, and it took him a moment to realize that’s exactly what it was. He shoved in his bag. They still needed that so they could use it to defeat the dragon rider.

He trudged on. The wind pushed on him from all sides, and his injured leg had a hard time keeping him up, but he just grit his teeth and kept going. If he stopped, he would be giving up, and that wasn’t an option.

_That doesn’t belong to you._

He jumped at the sound of the voice. “Who’s there?” he shouted.

Silence. Then—

_That doesn’t belong to you. You’re not the one who found it._

“What do you mean?” Danny asked.

His question was met with silence.

Danny shook his head. That voice must have been his imagination. He was just paranoid from the events of the past few days.

He kept on through the snow and tried to distract himself by thinking about where he might be. He definitely knew he wasn’t in the Underground or the Tragedy Isles. Those places were way too warm. He couldn’t be on Sunset Island either, since winter had ended there a while ago. He doubted he was in the Land of the Dead still, unless he’d somehow ended up on top of a mountain stuck in a perpetual snowstorm. He could be in the Swan’s Nest again, but even the one snowstorm they’d been in there hadn’t been as bad as this. Which meant the place that made the most sense was the Five Islands. But there was no way he could have gone right over Sunset and crashed into one of the islands.

Nevertheless, he got the feeling he was right. He really was on one of the Five Islands. The question was, which one?

Danny’s foot slipped. His leg kicked up, propelling the rest of his body backward and sending him falling to the ground. The scene would have been almost comical if he wasn’t the one who fell.

He grunted in pain as his already damaged ribs connected with the hard icy ground. He had to be more careful. He couldn’t go around falling and hurting himself further.

He pushed himself up. He wobbled on his feet, flailing a little to stay upright. Once he was stable, he squinted through the snow and stared out in front of him. The land ahead was covered in a thin veil of snow, but he caught glimpses of ice through the white flakes. He was standing on the shore of a frozen lake.

The wind almost pushed him over, but he braced his feet against the ice and fought against it. Nothing was familiar in this white landscape. There was no way he could find his way out of it.

_What are you afraid of?_

He almost jumped three feet in the air at the sound of the voice. The memory of his time in the Restless Spire came flooding back into his head. Not this again.

Gnarled fingers curled around his shoulder, but he jerked away. “No,” he snapped despite the fear in his chest. “I’m not doing this again.”

_You don’t have a choice. You want the power, you need to survive your trial._

He shuddered at the voice whispering in his ear. “Stop it,” he ordered. He tried to mimic some of the confidence he had when he arrived in the Imperial’s Keep, but his voice shook as he spoke. Any courage he might have had was gone.

A hand grasped each of his shoulders and shoved him forward. He tumbled to the ground with a grimace as his leg collapsed beneath him. The ice under his hands was so cold, it almost burned his skin. He scrambled to his feet as quick as he could, fighting the wind that tried to push him down. He couldn’t let his fear get the best of him again.

He took his crossbow off his back and glanced around for the source of the voice. It was too dark and snowy to be able to see much of anything, but he kept his head on a swivel, just in case he might be able to catch a glimpse of whatever was speaking.

Another hand brushed his shoulder. He whirled around and shot into the blizzard. The arrow whizzed harmlessly through the wind.

 _Are you afraid of this?_ the voice whispered. _Are you afraid of being stranded? Afraid of freezing to death?_

Something slammed into his back and sent him flying across the ice. He tumbled to the ground, and his crossbow clattered on the ice after him. He slid to a stop and groaned. His bruised ribs really weren’t feeling any better now that he was being tossed around by another disembodied voice.

He pushed himself onto all fours and tried to stand, but something hit his back and pushed him back down. He grunted at the contact with his damaged ribs.

_Are you afraid of being killed by something you can’t see?_

Danny grimaced as the thing holding him down pressed on his back. “Fuck off,” he grumbled, his voice hoarse. He caught a glimpse of his crossbow through the snow. He reached for it. His fingers hit the bow and he almost had a grasp on it, but something whipped out of the blizzard and knocked it just out of his reach.

_Are you afraid of being defenceless?_

Danny braced his hands against the ground and uselessly tried to push himself up. “I already told you everything,” he grunted. “There’s nothing more to say. You know what I’m afraid of.”

The voice laughed. _Daniel Rose, you have so much more to say. You haven’t even scratched the surface._

A ball of anger rose in Danny’s chest at the sound of the voice’s laughter. He already fucking did this. He already faced his fears. He didn’t need to see them all again.

 _You’re a coward,_ the voice whispered. _You’re scared of everything. There’s nothing you can do to change it. You’ll always be afraid. You’ll never be a hero._

Danny grit his teeth through the pain and anger. “I’m not afraid of everything.”

The thing holding him down lifted off his back, but only for something else to wrap around his throat and lift him into the air. He choked for air as the invisible hand squeezed. He clawed at it, desperately trying to pull it away from his throat. A bolt of fear wormed its way through his head.

 _Then tell me what you’re not afraid of,_ the voice whispered. _Give me one thing, you fucking coward. One thing you’re not afraid of._

The anger in Danny’s gut flared up again at the voice’s words. “You,” he rasped.

The hand dropped him and he collapsed to the ground, gasping cold breaths in relief. The voice grunted as if it had just been stabbed. Danny heard its invisible footsteps stumbling across the ice.

He pushed himself to his feet. He spotted his crossbow in the snow and snatched it up. _You’re nothing,_ the voice hissed, but it didn’t sound as cocky as it had before. _You were a coward then, you’re a coward now, and you’ll always be a coward. You’re not fit to be a hero._

Danny nocked his bowstring back. “Tell that to George,” he said. “He’s the one who chose me.” He aimed his bow at where the voice had come from. A little bit of confidence bloomed in his chest. “You have nothing on me.”

The voice growled in frustration. _I know all of your fears. You gave up on the heroes. You were too scared to be a hero._

Danny’s lips twitched in a smirk when he noticed the way the voice had phrased its last sentence. “You’re right, I _was_ too scared to be a hero. But I’m not anymore.”

 _I know you inside and out,_ the voice snapped. It shook a little as it spoke. _I could kill you right here and now in the most gruesome ways._ A hand brushed against his shoulder. _Would you like to be dismembered? Suffocated? Burned to death? Torn apart by fire dragons? Tossed off a cliff?_ It laughed quietly _. You don’t know what I’m capable of. You have no idea how much pain I could put you through._

Danny waited as the voice fell silent. Nothing that the voice had described happened, and it was then that he made a realization.

“You can only hurt me when I’m scared.”

 _I can hurt you whenever I want!_ the voice shouted.

“Then do it.”

Danny could almost imagine the rage on the creature’s invisible face in the silence that followed. The thought of making this thing mad while it couldn’t lay a finger on him brought him a sense of satisfaction. It had nearly killed him in the Restless Spire, but now here it was, furious at him and totally helpless.

He grinned and lowered his crossbow. “You can’t even touch me.”

The voice was silent. He began to think that maybe it went away, but then it laughed, a cold, chilling sound that sent a chill up Danny’s spine.

 _We can’t hurt you,_ it whispered. _But the same can’t be said for your friends. They have their own trials to face._

A jolt of panic shot through Danny when he remembered that the other heroes could be in danger, but he pushed it down as best he could. He couldn’t give this thing an opening to attack him.

Instead, he channeled his fear into anger. He wasn’t going to let anything or anyone hurt the family he’d found in the other heroes. As much as he denied it, he enjoyed being around these people, and whatever was threatening them wasn’t going to know what hit it when Danny found the others.

He nocked back his bow and fired a bolt in the voice’s direction. The voice grunted as if the missile had actually connected. _You don’t fucking know when to give up, do you?_

Danny nocked his bow again. “I already gave up once, and look were that got us.”

The voice heaved a great sigh. _Can’t get through to you, can I? Looks like you’ve finally gathered some confidence. Congratulations. Be sure to tell George you can help him defeat the dragon rider now, if he lives that long._

With that, the voice didn’t speak again, the only sound the howling wind around him.

He lowered his bow. No voices hissed at him from the snow, no hands grabbed at his shoulders. He was alone again.

He put his crossbow on his back. It seemed that whatever the voice had wanted from him, it didn’t get.

Something moved in the distance. He squinted, trying to see what it was through the mess of white. He could just faintly make out the outline of a dragon’s head and a pair of large wings. He couldn’t tell what kind of dragon it was. Was that Monarch?

“Hey!” he shouted. He hoped the dragon could hear him through the wind. “I need help! Hello?”

The dragon’s head turned his way. It ran towards him, growing bigger as it grew closer, and a line of spiky ridges came into view on the dragon’s back. The sight of that dragon looming in the distance immediately brought back a memory of the dragon that had sent his town up in flames, but he pushed those thoughts deep down. He needed help, and if this dragon could help him, then he would take what he could get.

The dragon paused in front of him. It lowered its head to stare at Danny, and Danny gazed into its bright orange eyes, pushing down his fear. The dragon’s throat rumbled in a purr, and once Danny saw the dragon’s white and grey scales, he breathed a sigh of relief.

He stepped closer to the dragon and patted its nose. “Hey, Viral.”

Viral nudged Danny with his nose. Danny gestured to the storm around them. “You cold?”

Viral shook his head. Of course he wasn’t cold in the snow. He was a fire dragon. He ran hotter than most other dragons, despite the fact that he wasn’t even built for this climate.

The wind whipped across Danny’s face and he covered it with his cloak. Viral seemed to notice Danny’s coldness. He lowered himself to the ground and used one paw to gently nudge Danny closer. He stretched his wings on either side of Danny, blocking out the wind.

Danny gave one last great shudder from the cold and leaned against Viral. His scales were warm. “Thanks, bud.”

Viral purred again. Danny slid to the ground and sat in he snow. The snow felt nice on his burns, but the rest of him was freezing. He brought a hand up to his face and winced. Great. He had windburn. Like he needed more burns.

He stared out from between Viral’s wings at the frozen lake in front of them. Despite the horrible weather, the scene was quite beautiful.

He nudged Viral with his elbow. “We should probably find the others guys, shouldn’t we?”

Viral bobbed his head in a nod. Danny stood up again, his injured leg screaming with the effort. He clenched his teeth through the pain. If he stayed still for too long, his temperature would go way down, so resting would do more harm than good.

Danny stepped through the snow, being very careful not to fall on the ice again, and hoisted himself onto Viral’s back. He shivered in the wind, holding his cloak around his shoulders. “Okay,” he breathed with a shudder. “Let’s go find the guys.”

Viral spread his wings and launched into the sky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know i've been updating twice a week recently but there will probably only be one next week since i've been working on the same god damn fight scene in the third to last chapter for about two weeks now and i would like to give myself a decent amount of prewritten chapters so i can keep updating this while i start writing the sequel. hope y'all had a good valentines day <3


	43. Broken Record

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SIKE, BITCHES!!!! i have finally finished writing the ending of this fic, and i have a decent amount of chapters written, so i can afford to update today!!!! i am so fucking excited to post the ending, even though it'll probably be frustrating to read at first. anyway, i hope y'all enjoy this chapter because shit is going to HAPPEN soon

Jordon let out a pained groan as he woke up. Why did he hurt all over?

He kept his eyes shut as he tried to collect his thoughts. He’d just been in the Imperial’s Keep, hiding behind a wall with Dylan, and he had his guns out for some reason. Why? What had they been doing?

Then the memory of his shitty plan and how it had been carried out came back into his head. He grimaced. He didn’t think it would have gotten violent like that. Maybe making plans was something that should be reserved for George.

As he wracked his brain for where the fuck he might be, his shivered. He just realized that the air around him was cold, almost freezing. He pried open one eye and saw the dark sky above him, twinkling with stars.

The sight would have been pretty if he wasn’t so _fucking_ cold.

He pushed himself up so he was sitting and gazed about the unfamiliar landscape. He was on a flat plain coated in snow. A few pine trees dotted the ground, along with what looked like a couple dead oak trees. A large path had been carved out from the snow in front of him, as if he had been tossed from the sky and crashed into the ground. An oak tree in the path had been broken, its brittle branches absolutely destroyed and the wood torn out of the trunk. It looked like someone had fired a cannon at the tree and blown it to smithereens.

He struggled to his feet. It really did feel like he’d been thrown from the sky. His head ached, and his vision was fuzzy. He might have had a concussion, but he wasn’t sure. His back stung with tiny scratches, which led him to believe that he was the thing that had completely decimated that tree when he fell.

He held his cloak around him as he tried to figure out where he was. He obviously wasn’t in the Tragedy Isles or the Underground, which left only four other places. Was he still in the Land of the Dead? That seemed most likely, since there was no way the dragon rider could have somehow tossed him all the way to the Swan’s Nest. But neither Danny nor Matt had mentioned a place that might be this cold.

He glanced at the plain behind him. The snow was void of footprints and snowdrifts. Flakes gently drifted from the sky and settled on the ground. The wind wasn’t too harsh, and the light of the moon reflected off the snow, casting a faint glow across the land.

He started walking, leaving the divot in the ground behind. He might as well start moving if he didn’t want to freeze to death.

His foot kicked something through the snow and he looked down. The snow melted in a small circle around the object, and he knelt down to see what it was.

The orange rock from Bullet’s Edge sat on the ground. It turned black for a moment, smoke drifting out from the cracks and melting the snow further.

He scooped it up and shoved it in his bag. If they still needed it to defeat the dragon rider, he couldn’t leave it in the snow.

As concerned as he was about where he might be, he was more concerned about Viral. If Viral was also stuck in this kind of climate, would he be okay? He was a fire dragon. He wasn’t meant for cold weather. He hoped Viral was still in the Land of the Dead, or better yet, somehow on Sunset Island.

_“Are you really worried about him?”_

Jordon yelped at the voice and drew his guns. “Who’s there?”

No response. He took a deep breath and trudged on. He was just imagining things. He must have been. Although, the voice had sounded oddly familiar, and it definitely didn’t sound like it was in his head. He tried to remember where he had heard that voice before, but he couldn’t figure it out.

 _“It’s good to see you again, Jordon,”_ another voice giggled. _“Are you sure you’re ready to face this test again? There’s no one here to save you this time.”_

With a panicked jolt, Jordon remembered exactly where he had heard those voices before. Back in Bullet’s Edge.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts and kept walking. He couldn’t let those voices get to him again. He had to stay alive so he could help defeat the dragon rider.

 _“You know you don’t really care about taking him down_ , _”_ a voice whispered. _“You only care about making yourself feel better.”_

Jordon tightened his grip on his guns and tried to block out the voices. It was difficult. They giggled in his ears, hissed at him through the slight wind, and muttered things under their breath that he could hardly hear.

 _“You really think anyone cares about you?”_ a voice asked. _“You really think they want you to be part of the team at all? You’re almost useless.”_

Jordon shook his head. Nope. He wasn’t giving in this time. He was going to be as stubborn as possible until the voices gave up.

“I’m their only healer,” he argued. “I saved Danny.” He felt almost proud to have some sort of argument to deflect their words. A slight sense of confidence rose up inside him.

_“You burned him.”_

Jordon physically winced when he remembered Danny’s screams during their makeshift surgery to remove the arrow in his stomach. Okay, the voice had a point there. But he didn’t know that Danny was afraid of being burned. That wasn’t Jordon’s fault. Besides, he had to close the wound somehow. It was their only option.

_“You’re the reason he left. You saw him in the Restless Spire, and you just sat back and watched.”_

“I left the Reckless Tower so I could help him,” Jordon shot back. “He was getting hurt. I had to save him.” He stumbled over a patch of ice and the voices giggled.

_“You only wanted to save him so you wouldn’t feel guilty. You only care about your own feelings.”_

A feeling of shame built up in his gut, but he pushed it down. The voices were wrong. He just had to keep reminding himself of that. They were wrong, they were wrong, they were _wrong—_

_“You let the Jailer die, didn’t you? You didn’t try hard enough.”_

“I did the best I could,” he said. Of course he felt bad about not being able to save the Jailer. Of course he thought he could have tried harder. But the Jailer died even with Theresa’s help, and she was working just as hard as he was. They had both carried responsibility for saving the Jailer.

 _“So now you’re blaming it on someone else?”_ a voice scoffed. _“Fucking pathetic. You can’t even take responsibility for your own actions, so you’re just passing them off to someone else you hardly know.”_

No, that’s not what he trying to do at all! It wasn’t Theresa’s fault the Jailer died! If Jordon had saved Monarch in the Tragedy Isles, he should have been able to save the Jailer, and it was his own fault that he failed! Not Theresa’s!

 _“Look at you, finally taking responsibility for something,”_ another voice taunted. _“But that doesn’t make you a good person.”_

“You’re wrong,” Jordon blurted. “You’re _wrong_. I’m not bad.”

_“Tell that to all the lives you’ve taken.”_

_“You should have killed the Jailer instead of Dylan,”_ a voice hissed. _“You’ve already got blood on your hands. There was no point in letting someone else carry that guilt. You were just too scared.”_

_“You fucking coward.”_

He shook his head. No one else had wanted to kill the Jailer. He wasn’t the only one. That didn’t make him bad.

_“But doesn’t it? You refused to do it just to spare yourself the guilt. Besides, she was suffering. Are you really that heartless that you would let a dragon live through that kind of pain?”_

“I didn’t want to hurt her,” Jordon said. He shook his head, refusing to let the voices get to him again. George and the others weren’t around to save him this time, so he had to keep his head on straight by himself. He clenched his fists around his revolvers, and of course, the thought arose that he could end his life right then, but he holstered his guns and instead clutched his cloak around his shoulders. He knew his problems wouldn’t disappear just because some random thousand-year-old hero thought he was a decent person, but now he realized just how much he had begun to depend on George and the others during the week he’d known them. They made him feel like he had a family.

_“You really think they’d want to be around you if they knew everything you’ve done?”_

Jordon blinked, a little confused. “What do you mean?”

 _“All the lives you’ve taken,”_ a voice whispered.

_“The blood on your hands.”_

_“If they knew you killed dragons, they would hate you more than you already hate yourself.”_

Jordon stopped walking. “I... I already told them.”

There was a short silence, as if the voices were taken aback by this news. Jordon wondered how they hadn’t known that already. They seemed to know everything else about him, so why didn’t they know that?

Quiet whispers rang through the air, like the voices were conversing with each other. _“Let me guess,”_ one of them said. _“They left you behind because they didn’t want a murderer in their little group of heroes?”_ The voice shook a little. It sounded almost concerned through its cocky façade.

He shook his head. “No. Dylan and Jorel are fine with it. So is Danny. Matt doesn’t know yet, but since his dragon can smell the blood on my hands, he might have figured it out by now.” He shrugged. “They don’t care.”

 _“But don’t you still feel bad about it?”_ a voice hissed.

He kept walking through the snow. “Well, yeah, but I’m no worse than any other executioner on Sunset Island. At least I realized that what I was doing was wrong. I care about being a better person. They don’t.”

One of the voices muttered a curse. _“Are you really going to believe everything George tells you? You just tricked him into thinking you’re a good person. You don’t deserve to be cared for.”_

Okay, that one stung a bit. He did worry sometimes that he’d somehow tricked George into thinking he wasn’t a bad person, but he had to keep reminding himself that he had basically poured his soul out to George, and the guy still thought he was decent. If the greatest hero of all time could tolerate Jordon, then maybe he wasn’t as bad as he thought.

He kept his eyes on the horizon ahead of him, but oddly enough, it seemed to be getting closer and closer. He wondered if maybe there was just a large snowdrift ahead of him or something, but his heart dropped when he saw what it was.

He’d been walking towards the edge of a cliff.

“Fuckin’ hell,” he muttered. He’d been around more than enough cliffs to know where his brain was going before the awful thoughts even began to surface. With them came the voices again, more persistent than before.

 _“Go on,”_ one of them whispered.

_“Jump.”_

_“You know you don’t deserve to live anyway.”_

He stepped away from the edge and covered his ears. He didn’t want to hear those voices. He couldn’t let them get to him.

However, that didn’t seem to stop them. Now their words resonated in his head, pulling forward every single insecurity he’d ever had.

_Dragon killer._

_You’re fooling them into thinking you’re good._

_You could have saved the Jailer._

_You could have healed Dove’s eyes if you actually cared._

_Dylan replaced you with Jorel._

_Danny was just too shy to tell you he hates you._

_George only said you’re good because he needed all the heroes he could get and you were one of the only options._

_None of them actually care about you._

_You’re not the only healer in the world. They could easily get someone else to take your place._

Jordon clenched his jaw. “Can you SHUT THE FUCK UP FOR _FIVE SECONDS?”_

The voices fell silent. None of them uttered so much as a whisper.

Jordon lowered his hands from his ears. He kept his gaze on the ground so he wasn’t looking over the edge. He took a deep breath. Something about breathing in the cold, crisp air brought him back to reality a little.

He raised his head and stared at the edge. The voices had stopped. He couldn’t shake the feeling that they were holding their breath, waiting to see what he would do.

He took another deep breath to ground himself. The temptation to jump was overwhelming, but he turned away and started walking away. “Thanks, but I’ll pass.”

None of the voices responded. It was like he left them behind along with the edge of the cliff.

A familiar squawk echoed through the air. He glanced around in confusion, wondering where it had come from. Two dark shapes appeared in the sky, just barely visible in the light of the moon. The soared down to the ground and stumbled to a landing in front of Jordon. It took him a moment to realize that they were dragons.

Dove and Grenade tromped through the snow towards Jordon. Grenade had a big grin on his face, and his tongue lolled out like he was an excited puppy. Dove almost stumbled over a snowdrift, but she scrambled to her feet and scampered after Grenade.

Jordon smiled as Grenade stopped in front of him. He reached up and scratched Grenade behind the horns. “Hey there, buddy.”

Dove squeaked and butted Jordon’s side with her head. Jordon pet her with his other hand. “You guys okay?” he asked.

Dove purred and nuzzled Jordon’s hand. Her bandages must have come loose and fallen off, because Jordon could clearly see the scars etched into her face. A pang of guilt pierced through him for not being able to heal her, but he pushed it down. He did the best he could.

A cold breeze wafted through the air and Grenade shuddered. Jordon pet him on the head at an attempt at reassurance.

“We should probably go find the guys,” Jordon suggested.

Grenade nodded. He nudged Jordon and bent down, a clear invitation for Jordon to climb on his back. He didn’t hesitate and hopped onto Grenade’s back. He shifted to make sure he wouldn’t fall off.

Jordon took a deep breath. “Alright. Let’s go find Dilly.”


	44. Nobody's Watching

Jorel woke up on top of a mountain.

His eyes fluttered open, but he squeezed them shut as a burst of cold wind whipped past him. Why was he cold? Where even was he?

He squinted through the wind. His gaze was met with a mass of white far, far below him. With a jolt, he realized that he was lying on a ledge, and there was almost nothing between him and the ground below.

His eyes shot open and he scrambled away from the edge, his heart pounding in his chest. The ledge he was on stretched downward in a deep slope. He pressed his back against the rock behind him and glanced up. The peak of a mountain towered into the sky behind him, and a sense of panic welled up inside him. Oh god no, not heights! Anything but heights!

The next thing he noticed was that Tiger was gone. There was no familiar weight of her around his shoulders, and there was no sign of her on the small ledge around him. All of his protective instincts went into overdrive as soon as he noticed she wasn’t there. Finding Tiger was now his top priority.

But how was he going to get off of this ledge without falling and dying? Going down was definitely not an option, so the only way he could go was up. The last thing he wanted to do was go higher when he was already near the top of a mountain, but making his way down now would just send him into even more of a panic. There were hardly any footholds in the rock around him, and parts of it were covered in ice and snow, but he had to move. There was no way someone could just swoop in and save him. He didn’t even know where he was or whether any dragons even lived nearby, so he had to keep moving forward himself.

He reached behind him for his spear and felt a slight wave of relief when his hand closed on the shaft. He reached for the throwing axes at his belt and unsheathed them both. They weren’t exactly made for climbing, but they would work.

He looked up at the top of the mountain. It didn’t seem too far. Once he was up there, he’d be able to see more of the land.

He swallowed back his fear and hit the ice with his axe. The blade dug into the wall and stuck there. Jorel raised his foot to a small ledge in the rock and hoisted himself up. Fear flashed across his mind once he left the ground, but he tried his best to suppress it as he began to climb up the mountain.

His muscles burned as he slowly made his way up the mountain. He refused to look down. The sight of the ground below him would only disorient him further.

His foot slipped on a patch of ice and he yelped as he almost tumbled down the side of the mountain. He clutched his axes with all the strength he could muster as a piece of ice fell off his boot and plummeted to the ground below. He didn’t watch it as it fell and just hung there by his axes, chest heaving. The wind blew on him from all sides, threatening to tear him off the side and throw him down to the ground, but he just grit his teeth and scrabbled for a foothold. His boot caught on a piece of ice and he breathed a sigh of relief having found some stability. God, out of all the places he could have ended up, why did it have to be on a fucking mountain?

He was finally able to hook his axe on the edge of the mountaintop. His arms ached, but he pulled himself up over the edge and collapsed in the snow. He shivered in the cold, but he scrambled away from the edge, axes still in hand. Now that he was more or less safe, he could properly think about where he might be and what had happened to the others. Was he in the Swan’s Nest? The Five Islands? Were the others nearby? Were they even alive?

Jorel put his axes back on his belt. He took his spear off his back and clutched it in both hands as he scanned the terrain below.

Mountains covered in snow littered the ground around him. The sky was dark, and the moon was just barely visible through the clouds. The wind was much more chilly than it had been in the Swan’s Nest, so he was pretty sure he was on one of the Five Islands. Those were the most northern parts of the realm, right?

He spotted a small black object in the snow and furrowed his brow. He knelt down and brushed the snow aside. The twig from the Grove of Loss sat on the ground. A red stripe appeared in the black bark and disappeared a moment later. He picked up the twig and shoved it in his pocket. They still needed it if they were planning on using it to defeat the dragon rider.

His wrists stung with a sharp pain. He hissed and almost dropped his spear in surprise. He tugged his sleeves down. The bandages that Jordon had wrapped around his arms were still there, but long lines of red bled through the white cloth.

_Jorel._

He jumped at the sound of the voice in the wind. “Who’s there?”

He received no response.

He clenched his spear tighter. Something he’d learned throughout the past week or so was that being alone in an unfamiliar place and hearing voices out of nowhere was not a good sign. Not to mention the fact that his wrists were bleeding. This wasn’t a good situation to be stuck in.

_Jorel._

He shook his head. “No. I’m not doing this again. Stay the fuck out of my head.”

 _Where’s your dragon?_ the voice asked. _Aren’t you afraid for her? You should go find her. You don’t want something bad to happen to her out here._

He furrowed his brow. “What do you mean, ‘something bad’?”

_She’s not made for this weather, isn’t she? She’s a desert dragon. She could be freezing out here._

Jorel clenched his teeth. The voice was right. Tiger really wasn’t made for winter weather. He had to go find her before she froze to death.

 _She’s probably not on the mountain,_ the voice said. _You should go down there and search for her._

He hesitantly peeked over the edge of the mountain. The ground was so far below, he was hit with a wave of vertigo. Just the thought of making his way down there was terrifying. “I don’t think I should go down there.”

_But what about Tiger? She could be dead or dying. You need to find her._

He shook his head. “No, no, no, no, no. This is like the fucking Grove of Loss again, isn’t it? I’m not falling for anything.”

 _I’m not trying to trick you, Jorel,_ the voice said softly. _I’m trying to help. You need to find your dragon. She could be in big trouble._

He was so tempted to listen. The urge to slide his way all the way down the mountain calling Tiger’s name was almost overwhelming, but he remembered what had happened last time he trusted this voice. He wasn’t going to let it happen again.

A loud screech echoed in the distance. He snapped his head up to the sky and squinted, dismissing the voice whispering his name in the wind. A large dragon soared through the sky, thrashing and roaring as it plummeted towards the mountains. Jorel watched as it made a beeline for the peak next to his. He gripped his spear tighter and took a step back. The dragon’s roar sounded oddly familiar, but he couldn’t quite tell what it looked like in the darkness.

The dragon crashed into a mountain peak. The ground almost shook with the impact, and Jorel’s heart leaped into his throat. He dug the head of his spear into the snow to use it as a handhold as the mountain beneath him trembled. The dragon dug its long claws into its mountain, still thrashing about like it was trying to shake something off its back. It roared, and through the haze of snow, Jorel spotted four large orange wings on the dragon’s back. They flapped wildly, blowing snow in all directions. Two pinpricks of blue light shone on the dragon’s head, and it took him a moment to realize that those were its eyes. Two points on its horns had branched off and curled downward like the horns of a ram, and its fangs stuck out over its lips. Dozens of red gashes littered its blue scales, and the dragon screeched as another one appeared on the back of one of its wings.

Jorel’s eyes widened when it finally processed that this was Monarch. What was happening? Why was he going off the deep end like he had in the Swan’s Nest? What was wrong? And where the hell was George?

 _Jorel_ , the voice whispered. _It doesn’t matter. You have to find Tiger. Go down the mountain. Forget about this dragon._

His left wrist stung as another shallow cut appeared in his skin. He fought the urge to listen to the voice. Monarch was distressed and injured. Jorel had to do something.

 _Tiger is more important,_ the voice insisted, a pang of annoyance in its tone. _Go find her. Ignore Monarch. He’s fine._

Jorel watched as Monarch screeched and flailed. “That looks like the opposite of fine,” he muttered.

Another cut sliced across Monarch’s back, and Jorel decided that he had to do something. What that something would be, he had no idea, but he had to try.

Monarch’s wing passed by the edge of his mountain peak. Jorel slung his spear onto his back and braced his feet against the ground, ready to take a running start for the edge. Blood dribbled down his hands from the wounds on his wrists, but he ignored it.

 _Jorel!_ the voice shrieked as he started running. He blocked it out and suppressed his fear. He began to second guess himself, but before he could back out, he leaped off the edge of the mountain and caught the edge of one of Monarch’s wings. He grasped it with all his strength as Monarch thrashed and screeched. The thought crossed his mind that if he had timed his jump wrong, he would have plummeted to the ground far below, but he just grimaced and held on tighter.

The wing he was on passed over Monarch’s back and he let go. His stomach dropped as he fell, and he panicked for a moment, thinking maybe he let go at the wrong time and was about to become a red stain on the ice below, but the wind was knocked out of his lungs as he landed on Monarch’s back. He twisted around and grabbed one of the spikes that trailed down towards Monarch’s tail so he wouldn’t fall off. Monarch screeched and flailed, and the sound was almost deafening, but Jorel held on as tight as he could. Monarch pushed off the mountain and lifted into the sky.

Jorel grit his teeth and clutched the spike on Monarch’s back harder. He wasn’t really sure what he’d been thinking. How could he stop Monarch from freaking out? He wasn’t a dragon rider, or even a tamer for that matter. He couldn’t calm down a panicked dragon.

But George would be devastated if something happened to his dragon, and Jorel was the only person around to help.

 _Forget about him!_ the voice shouted. _You have to find Tiger!_

“Yeah, yeah, fuck off,” Jorel grumbled. He grabbed at another white spike in front of him as Monarch thrashed. It took a couple tries, but he managed to grab hold of it. He grabbed another spike and let go of the other, inching his way towards Monarch’s head. He had no idea what he was going to do once he got there, but he was going to do _something_.

Monarch roared as another gash appeared in his hide. Jorel glanced at the blood streaming down his scales and grimaced. Something was wrong here. There was nothing around that could have been cutting him, and yet he was covered in wounds. Jorel’s wounds had been reopened, and he was hearing that damn voice again. Something bad was happening. Jorel had to stop it before one of them died.

He got close enough to Monarch’s head that he thought Monarch might be able to hear him. “Monarch!” he yelled through the wind. “Calm down!”

Monarch’s only answer was a panicked screech. He crashed into a mountain and Jorel ducked as ice and snow rained down on him. He cursed under his breath, trying to hold on as Monarch almost turned upside-down. How the hell was he supposed to make Monarch listen?

He inched his way closer to Monarch’s head. Monarch’s reins were still tied to his horns, and they flapped in the wind while Monarch launched off a mountain and crashed into another. As soon as Jorel spotted the reins, a crazy idea popped into his head.

 _FIND TIGER!_ the voice shrieked in his head. A small gash sliced across his arm, but he ignored it. He reached up and grabbed at the reins. He missed once, then twice, then finally, his hand closed on the leather.

He pulled on the reins and Monarch’s head tilted back with them. He changed direction midair, making a beeline for the sky. Jorel didn’t think this improved his situation, since now it would be easier for him to fall, but he just clenched his jaw and struggled to his feet. He braced his boots against Monarch’s back and held the reins in both hands. He’d never ridden a dragon before, but it was better late than never.

Jorel’s ears popped at the change in pressure as Monarch broke through the clouds. He glanced behind him, and his stomach dropped when he saw how small the mountains already looked below. If he fell from this height, he’d die before he even hit the ground.

He turned back to Monarch, who was still flailing and screeching as more cuts riddled his scales. Having an unfamiliar, inexperienced rider probably wasn’t helping his fear, but if Jorel could just get him to land...

He looked down at the reins. Which way did he pull for “land”?

He took a chance and pulled the reins down. To his surprise, Monarch’s head tilted upward, and his body followed, turning him and Jorel completely upside-down. Jorel felt his feet sliding off Monarch’s back and grabbed the white spike in front of him to keep himself on. His heart pounded with absolute terror until Monarch did a full loop and levelled out. Jorel raised the reins back up so Monarch didn’t decide to rear back into another loop. Fucking hell, just how sensitive were the damn controls on this dragon?

He carefully tugged the reins upward. Monarch’s head tilted down, and while he snarled and flailed, he began a very slow, very jolty descent towards land. He screeched and tossed his head, and Jorel gave the reins a slight jerk like he would to a horse. Monarch squawked in displeasure, shaking his back like he was trying to get rid of a fly. Jorel clung to the reins with all his might to avoid falling off.

Monarch screeched and veered towards a mountain. Jorel squeezed his eyes shut as they crashed into the icy surface. Monarch’s four wings flapped against the mountains, sending ice and snow down from the peak while Monarch dug his long claws into the side and clung to it. Jorel wracked his brain, wondering how he was supposed to get Monarch back into the air so they could find a safe place to land. He tried to remember how George used the reins. What did he do to make Monarch take off?

Jorel flicked the reins. Monarch must have somehow felt the slight movement through his panic, because he spread his wings and launched back into the air. Jorel squinted through the wind as they soared into the sky. Now to find a place to land.

He scanned the ground for a flat plain, keeping a tight grip on the reins. He gently jerked them back every time Monarch thrashed and roared, and Monarch seemed to be responding a little. Jorel gave the reins a slight yank, and Monarch paused in his flailing for a few seconds before loosing another screech and thrashing around again. It took all of Jorel’s strength to even stay upright on Monarch’s back.

Monarch made a beeline for another mountain and Jorel’s eyes widened. He pulled the reins to the right and Monarch followed. They just narrowly avoided crashing into the rock.

Jorel caught sight of a flat plain through the peaks of the mountains. A large mesa stuck out of the middle of it. Jorel lowered the reins so Monarch rose above the mountain peaks, still screeching and flailing, then gently guided him towards the mesa. If they could just land, Jorel could figure out where to go from there.

Monarch jerked his head to the side with a squawk, but Jorel tugged on the reins and he straightened, quietly snarling at the unfamiliar rider on his back. “You’re okay, man,” Jorel said quietly. “Let’s just land.”

Monarch tossed his head and growled. He didn’t seem to want to land. He tilted his head up and soared towards the clouds. Jorel tried to direct him back to the ground, but he just shook his head and roared in defiance.

Jorel grimaced. It looked like they’d be stuck up there until Monarch decided he wanted to land.

Jorel gently pulled on the left rein and Monarch banked to the side. Despite his reluctance to land, he still seemed to be listening.

“Guess we’re going for a ride,” Jorel grumbled. He’d rather be safe on the ground, but he couldn’t get Monarch to land if he didn’t want to.

Monarch thrashed about again, but Jorel gave the reins another sharp yank and Monarch stopped. He seemed to be losing the determination to resist. He huffed and growled, but his flailing lessened as Jorel gently guided him to fly over the mountains. No more bloody gashes seemed to have appeared in his scales, and Jorel had stopped hearing that voice. He took that as a good sign.

Jorel gazed out over the snowy landscape as they flew. Despite his horrible fear of heights, the view was actually quite nice.

Monarch gave a low snarl, but he didn’t try to shake Jorel off his back. Jorel tugged the reins to the right and they soared over a mountain peak. Monarch’s claws brushed the snow as they passed over it. Jorel had never ridden a dragon before, but it was easier than he thought it would be. Monarch responded to the smallest of movements from the reins.

Jorel looked down at Monarch. He seemed to have calmed down enough to realize that he wasn’t in any danger. His glowing blue eyes scanned the mountains, and a content growl rumbled in his throat.

Jorel tapped Monarch’s neck with his foot. “You okay now?”

Monarch bobbed his head once. His four wings stayed separate, and his horns didn’t shrink. Something was still obviously wrong. Jorel assumed it was because George wasn’t around. Either that, or George was in danger, and Monarch could feel it.

“You know where we are?” Jorel asked.

Monarch shook his head. “You know where George is?” Jorel asked.

Monarch shook his head again. “Guess we better go find him,” Jorel muttered, tightening his grip on the reins.

Monarch gave a snarl in agreement. Jorel steeled his nerves, and with one last fearful glanced at the ground, he pulled the reins down and Monarch rose into the clouds.


	45. Pray

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i've basically decided to keep updating every Tuesday until Legends is done since i have so many prewritten chapters. also, i've finally started separating my chapter sections with a line instead of just an extra space so it's easier to tell where scenes change, and i went back and changed that in the rest of the chapters because it would have bugged me if i just did that from here on.  
> anyway, enjoy :)

The first things George noticed were the voices.

His eyes snapped open and he bolted upright, frantically glancing around, trying to discern where he was. A frozen wasteland dominated the land on either side of him. Snow whipped across his face from the harsh wind, but he couldn’t hear it at all. Instead of the howling wind, faint voices whispered in his ears, blocking out every other sound. He shivered in the cold. He couldn’t make out what the voices were saying, but he bet it was nothing good. If this was something similar to what happened in the Grove of Loss...

He shook his head and pushed himself to his feet. He had no idea where in Angeles he was, but it was cold, so he had to start moving if he didn’t want to freeze.

Something nudged at his leg and he looked down. In the snowdrift next to him, a small dragon head with wide red eyes poked out of the snow. It wriggled further out of the snowbank and nudged his leg with its nose again. It took him a moment to recognize that it was Tiger. How did she end up here, too?

He knelt down and held out his hands. She scampered out of the snow and leaped into his arms, snuggling into his chest as her tail wrapped around his torso. She was shaking from the cold, and George wrapped his cloak around her to keep her warm. He glanced around the frozen landscape. If Tiger was here, then surely Jorel couldn’t be too far away.

But there was no sign of Jorel or even another living being in sight. George and Tiger seemed to be the only inhabitants of this wasteland.

George still couldn’t hear through the voices, but Tiger’s throat vibrated in a whimper as another gust of wind blew past them. George grabbed for his shield on his back and was relieved to find that it was still there. He hefted it in his free arm that wasn’t holding Tiger and held it up against the wind. It wouldn’t do much to protect him, but it might help Tiger.

He began walking through the storm. Tiger huddled into his cloak as he considered where they might be. It was hard to think through the constant whispers in his head. Where had he just been? What had happened? How did he end up here with Tiger?

He shook his head. There was no use trying to figure things out when he could hardly put one thought together. He just had to focus on getting out of this place.

A faint shape came into view ahead of him. He squinted through the snow. It looked like a cluster of trees.

He trudged on through the snow with Tiger curled up against his chest. He had to keep Tiger safe, even if he couldn’t make it in the cold. Jorel would be devastated if anything happened to his dragon.

George got closer to the small grove. Most of it was pine trees from the looks of it, but there were a few dead trees littered through the small forest. He went into the trees and the wind lessened slightly. Still, he kept his shield close to protect Tiger.

He slid down a small dip in the ground and almost stumbled over a fallen log. He managed to stay upright, even as the wind attacked him from all sides. He found himself shaking as much as Tiger and frantically searched for anything they could use as shelter. He’d get frostbite or hypothermia if he carried on like this.

A small ledge of rock jutting out of a tiny hill caught his eye. He turned towards it and began making his way through the trees. He kicked the snow aside and saw that it had been packed over a hole under the ledge. It would be hard to fit through it, but any shelter was better than none.

He crouched down and squeezed through the hole. The wind ceased, and along with it went the voices. He blinked in surprise as all the sounds suddenly entered his ears at once. Tiger whimpered, the wind howled outside, and his sword scabbard scraped against the rock. He settled on the ground and leaned against the wall. Since he’d dug the snow away from the entrance, there wasn’t much to protect them from the cold, so he jammed his shield into the entrance to block the wind. It fit well enough that it would provide some decent cover.

Tiger whined and snuggled further into George’s cloak. It was dark in the cave, although it wasn’t much brighter outside. It seemed like it was nighttime, but it was hard to tell through the haze of white snow. Just how long had he been passed out? Last thing he remembered...

Oh, right. They’d set up a trap for the dragon rider. George cringed when he remembered the rider’s anguished cries as Saint and Monarch pinned down his dragon. He had to admit, maybe they’d gone a little too far. It was hard not to get caught up in the rush of victory when it was so damn close. He was glad that Danny had swooped in and stopped them. George had no idea what the dragon rider would have done if they had actually killed his dragon.

George sighed and wrapped his arms around Tiger as she purred and nuzzled against him. He didn’t know how they were going to get out of the snowstorm and find the others, or if they even could.

George felt his eyelids grow heavy, and he shook himself awake. Falling asleep would be the worst thing to do right now. They had no source of warmth, and they were both freezing. The wind still whipped through the gaps in the entrance his shield couldn’t cover, chilling him to the bone. It would be too easy for him to fall asleep and never wake up.

He shifted in his seat and hugged Tiger closer. She whimpered and nudged his head as if she knew he was on the verge of falling asleep again. He couldn’t help it. It was just so cold. He wanted to curl up and let himself drift away.

Tiger shivered in his arms with a quiet whine. He scratched her behind the horns with numbing fingers. Maybe if he just closed his eyes for a second...

He let his eyes flutter shut. As soon as they were closed, he found it almost impossible to open them. He must have been outside in the cold for hours if he was this freezing. Tiger didn’t seem to be doing much better. She stopped trying to huddle closer to him and just rested in his arms, shaking as wind blew in from outside. He curled around her, doing his best to keep her warm. He was going to keep her safe even if he died.

He felt himself slipping away. The sound of the howling wind grew fainter, and he could have sworn it turned into a quiet whispering voice just before he drifted into sleep.

* * *

George woke to the sight of the calm night sky.

He blinked. Wasn’t he just hiding in a cave with Tiger? Where had he gone? Why was he back outside? Did he sleepwalk or something? He was pretty sure he’d never walked in his sleep before. Maybe he was dreaming.

He pushed himself up so he was sitting and glanced around. Behind him was a large forest, much bigger than the one he and Tiger had taken shelter in. The trees stretched off endlessly to either side of him, disappearing as they crossed the horizon. Blocking his view of the landscape of snowdrifts in front of him was a large stone pedestal.

He struggled to his feet. He shivered. It was still cold, but not as cold as it was in the storm. He rested his hand on the pommel of his sword. Something wasn’t right here. How had he ended up outside again?

A faint voice hissed in his ear and he jumped. “Who’s there?” he demanded. He had half a mind to draw his sword, despite the fact that there didn’t seem to be anyone around aside from himself.

_“Hello, mister hero.”_

George whirled around, scanning the terrain for the source of the voice. Nothing presented itself.

 _“It’s good to finally see you.”_ The voice was flat and serious. It held none of the urgency that the voice in the Grove of Loss had held. It was completely emotionless.

George drew his sword. He automatically reached back for his shield and was surprised to see that it was on his back despite the fact that he’d left it in the cave. Nevertheless, he was glad to have it. He hefted it in his left hand. There was nothing to fight right now, but feeling his weapons in his hands gave him a sense of security.

“Who are you?” George asked again.

A moment of silence. _“God’s Vision,”_ the voice said finally.

George blinked. That was one of the places the dragon rider had talked about visiting. But if that was a place, then how...?

 _“The others aren’t holding up well,”_ the voice whispered.

“What are you talking about?” George demanded.

 _“They have the pieces,”_ the voice hissed, which didn’t answer his question at all. _“If they pass their trials, they’ll have the power you need to complete your task.”_

George furrowed his brow, still confused. The voice seemed to realize this, because a light sigh echoed through the air. _“Let me show you.”_

The ground rumbled. He stepped back as four jagged sheets of ice burst from the snow, one by one, two on each side of the stone pedestal in front of him. He was about to ask what was going on and why, but then the ice shifted, and images appeared on the frozen surfaces.

In the first one, Danny was leaning down in the middle of a storm to pick something up. When he held up whatever he’d grabbed, George saw that it was the piece of wood from the Restless Spire. In the next sheet of ice, Jordon was kneeling down in the snow to examine something. He picked it up, and George caught a glimpse of the rock from Bullet’s Edge just before Jordon shoved it into his bag. The next sheet over showed an image of Jorel scaling the side of a mountain with his axes. Far above him on the peak, the twig from the Grove of Loss poked out of the snow. On the very last piece of ice was an image of Dylan sliding around on the surface of a frozen lake. He flailed frantically to stay upright, and he accidentally kicked the crystal from the No-Way-Out Caves across the ice as he tumbled to the ground.

 _“If they live, they will have the power you need,”_ the voice whispered.

George’s eyes widened. _“If_ they live?”

_“They must be tested. Those relics are not theirs. They didn’t retrieve them. If they want the power, they must pass their trials first.”_

George’s mind raced as he thought about what that might mean. If getting power from the objects that came from each of those places required retrieving the object themselves and going through the horrors of each place while doing so...

“I have to help them,” George blurted. “They could die.”

 _“That’s not your trial, Ragan,”_ the voice said flatly. _“Yours is much more complicated than that.”_

“Then tell me what it is,” George said, “and let me go help them. Please. I need to save them.”

_“They have to do this on their own if they’re going to be able to help you defeat your dragon rider.”_

“I don’t care,” George snapped. “I just need to make sure they’re safe.” He thought back to his conversation with Jordon in the Tragedy Isles and his heart clenched. If he wasn’t there to save Jordon...

 _“You’re here for the same power, aren’t you?”_ the voice asked.

George swallowed. “Maybe. Why?”

_“Because your trial begins now.”_

An explosion of ice blew from the ground on the other side of the stone pedestal. He winced and raised his shield as ice shards exploded through the air. Through the haze of ice, a humanoid shape leaped over the stone pedestal with a long icy spear in its grip. Its feet thudded on the ground and its spear slammed into George’s shield. He stumbled backward and gave the silhouette a quick once-over. It was definitely made to look humanoid, but there were no discerning features other than the general shape, not even a face. Its entire body was made from ice.

The ice soldier spun its spear around and slammed the pommel into George’s shield. He grimaced and stood his ground. This thing was stronger than it looked. He hefted his sword and raised it just as the soldier swiped its spear down at him. The spear caught on his blade. He twisted his sword and the spear flew from the soldier’s grip. He jabbed his sword at the soldier’s chest. The sword broke through the ice of the soldier’s chest and stuck out the other side. The soldier collapsed to the ground.

Before George could catch his breath, two more icy soldiers leaped over opposite sheets of ice and rushed at him. One swiped at him with a dagger and he parried the blow with his sword while the other fired at him with a frosty crossbow. He kept his shield between him and the bowman as the soldier with the dagger jabbed at him. He clenched his jaw, trying to parry the soldier’s swipes while deflecting the bowman’s arrows with his shield.

A sharp pain flared up in his shoulder and he flinched. He swiped his blade at the soldier’s legs and it went down. He whirled around and lunged at the bowman. It was in the middle of nocking its bow back when George jabbed his blade through its chest. For good measure, he turned around again and stabbed the soldier with the knife in the head.

He grasped at his injured shoulder. A small bolt stuck out of his skin. For a moment, his skin almost felt like it was burning around the wound, but then he realized that it was so cold it only felt hot. The feeling spread across his entire shoulder, and he grimaced in pain.

 _“How long do you think you can fight?”_ the voice asked. There was no emotion in its words, but a hard tone rang through, almost like the voice was challenging him. _“How much longer do you think you can keep trying to be a hero?”_

George didn’t answer. He turned his attention to the sheets of ice, which were still showing images of his friends. Danny whirled around and shot at something in the snowstorm with his crossbow. He paused as if listening to a voice before something slammed into him and sent him flying. George turned to Jordon’s piece of ice to see him stumbling along through the snow with his guns in his hands. His lips moved, and although George couldn’t hear a word, it was easy to read his lips: _You’re wrong. I’m not bad_. Jordon winced as if something had just slapped him and shook his head. George prayed the guy wasn’t headed towards another cliff. Meanwhile, Jorel stood on top of the mountain, his spear clutched in his hands. Fresh lines of red blood lined his bandaged wrists, and he whipped his head around like he was searching for the source of some sort of noise. Dylan stumbled around on his frozen lake. The ice cracked beneath him, and he tumbled into the freezing water.

 _“Do you really think you can save them?”_ the voice asked. _“You think you’re a good enough hero to survive this and save your friends? You’re on the verge of collapsing already.”_

George hefted his shield, suddenly filled with determination. “I could do this all day.”

A moment of silence. _“Fine then.”_

Ice sprayed up around him. Three frosted soldiers burst from the ground and rushed him all at once. He ducked as a blade swung over his head and raised his shield just as a dagger stabbed down at him. He swiped his blade at a pair of icy legs, and the swordsman went down almost immediately. He parried another soldier’s spear as the one with the dagger lunged for him. The blade sliced across his left arm and he winced, but he ignored the pain and jabbed at the spearman. His sword pierced through the ice just before the spearman could stab its spear into his skull.

He whirled around as the soldier with the dagger rushed for him. The icy blade clanged on his shield. He jabbed at the soldier’s chest, but the soldier skittered away and flicked its wrist. Another dagger appeared in its hand, and it began spinning both of its knives on icy chains.

George grimaced. “Shit,” he muttered.

The soldier whipped its knives at him. He deflected the first one with his shield and swung at the other with his sword. The chains wrapped around his blade. The soldier yanked on the chain and his sword flew from his grip, disappearing into the snow. He ducked as a knife whipped over his head. He held up his shield, his gaze flickering back and forth between the soldier and his sword. How the hell was he supposed to defeat this thing now? If he lunged for his sword, the soldier would just slice him to pieces.

The soldier slashed at him and he rolled to the side. The soldier was right between him and his weapon. There was no way for him to get it.

The soldier spun its daggers on its chains. He wracked his brain for some sort of plan. The wounds in his shoulder and arm felt as though they were being covered in a layer of frost. The cold stung his skin, making it near impossible for him to concentrate.

He raised his shield just as the soldier whipped both of its daggers at him. The icy blades ricocheted off the metal, and one of them flew backwards and struck the soldier in the head. A crack appeared in its icy blank face and it stumbled backwards, disoriented. George saw his chance and rushed forward. He ran past the icy soldier and snatched up his sword. He whirled around and swung it straight at the soldier’s neck. The blade cleaved clean through the ice, and its head toppled to the ground, followed by the rest of its body.

George’s chest heaved. He touched the wound in his arm and winced. No blood leaked through the open cut. Instead, the skin and even the fabric of his sleeve around it had frosted over and turned a blueish white. The thin coating of ice inched towards either end of his arm, stretching to his hand and shoulder. He tapped on his left arm with his fingernail. A faint _tink_ echoed through the air. He tried to move his fingers, but he could hardly even feel them. The frost spread to his wrist and creeped along his fingers. They seemed to be frozen around the grip of his shield.

 _“You won’t make it,”_ the voice said. _“You need to know when to give up.”_

George shook his head and hefted his sword. “No. No, I’m not giving up.”

_“Then you will die a fool’s death.”_

Ice exploded from the ground as four more frozen soldiers crawled out of the snow. His gaze slid across the stone pedestal in the middle of the sheets of ice and he sprinted for it. He scrambled onto it as the soldiers surrounded him. The pedestal was tall enough that it would keep him out of range of two of the soldiers’ weapons, but the other two wielded crossbows. His shield was the only thing that could protect him from those.

A swordsman slashed at George, but he stepped back and the blade missed his leg. The swordsman lowered its shield and crouched down. Before George knew what it was doing, the spearman ran for the pedestal and stepped onto the shield. The swordsman propelled the spearman up, launching it directly at George. He held up his sword to parry the weapon, but the spearman landed on the pedestal in front of him and the spearhead slashed across his leg. A burst of cold exploded through his thigh. He grit his teeth through the freezing pain and caught the spear on the hilt of his sword as it swung down at his face. He twisted his sword, ripping the spear from the soldier’s grasp, and jabbed at the spearman’s chest.

As soon as the spearman went down, he turned his attention to the swordsman. It clambered up the pedestal as arrows whizzed towards George from the two soldiers with crossbows. He deflected the bolts with his shield. One of them even bounced off his shield and hit the swordsman in the face. It didn’t seem to notice and just leaped up onto the pedestal.

George slashed at the soldier, but it parried his blade with its own. It swung its sword at him and he ducked, slashing at its legs. The soldier lowered its shield to block his sword.

 _“You’re going to lose,”_ the voice hissed.

“Fuck off,” George growled in defiance. He lunged forward and sliced his sword across the soldier’s chest. It collapsed in an icy heap and fell off the pedestal.

He dropped his sword and snatched up the fallen spearman’s weapon. He reared back and threw it at one of the bowmen. The spear pierced through the frozen soldier, and while it tried to shoot George as it stumbled back, a stray bolt hit the other bowman in the neck and it went down. The first soldier collapsed on the other one.

George looked down at the leg the soldier had managed to hit. Frost spread across his leg. He tried to bend his knee, and the frost cracked with the movement, but it didn’t budge. A sense of panic rose up in his chest. What if he froze over completely?

 _“Go on then,”_ the voice said. _“Keep fighting, if you think that’s the way to get what you need.”_

The ground rumbled. One by one, five soldiers pulled themselves from the ground. One of them clutched a spear in both hands, but a pair of throwing axes hung from an icy belt on its waist. Next to it, a soldier crawled out of the ground clutching a pair of revolvers. Another soldier emerged with daggers on chains, and next to it was a soldier with a crossbow. In the middle of the group, one last soldier emerged, clutching a sword and shield in its hands. Something about the sight seemed familiar, and then it clicked: this was the scene he’d seen play out in his dream from over a week ago, before he and Monarch woke up to find the other heroes. But what happened after this? Did he get killed by these frozen soldiers? Did he freeze to death? He couldn’t remember. All he knew was that he had to keep fighting. If he could just finish whatever that voice wanted him to, he could leave and go save the others.

 _“Will you give up already?”_ the voice asked.

George stumbled on his frozen leg. His frosted shoulder was completely numb, and his left arm refused to bend. Despite this, he shook his head.

All five of the soldiers sprung into action. The ones with the crossbow and guns immediately began firing, and he lifted his shield to protect himself. Bullets and arrows rained on the metal as footsteps pounded across the ground towards him. How was he supposed to defeat all five of these soldiers? He got lucky the last couple times, with one of the bowmen shooting the other and the first soldier with chained daggers accidentally hitting itself in the head, but he got the feeling these five were more competent than the others.

The swordsman vaulted onto the pedestal and slashed down at George. He raised his sword to just managed to block the blade. The spearman wasn’t too far behind the other soldier. It clambered up onto the pedestal and jabbed down at George. He blocked it with his shield and parried the swordsman’s weapon with his other hand.

He slammed his shield against the spearman’s legs. The spearman stumbled and almost toppled off the edge of the pedestal, but its spear caught on the edge and it managed to balance itself out. George gave a shriek of pain as a bullet thudded into his leg. He stumbled, and an icy chain whipped out and wrapped itself around his neck. Frost spread out from the bullet wound in his leg, and the chain on his neck burned horribly. He dropped his sword and grasped at the chain with his unfrozen hand. The chain tightened, pinching his skin, and he found it hard to breathe. The soldier yanked on the chain and he stumbled forward, still trying to tear the chain away from his skin. Two crossbow bolts hit him in the stomach, followed by a bullet in his arm. He gasped and choked as frost spread up towards his face from the chain around his chain. Black spots danced in his tunneling vision.

 _“Do you yield, hero?”_ the voice whispered. _“Or will you die like an idiot?”_

George stared into the blank faces of the icy soldiers around him. The swordsman raised its blade above its head, ready to strike at a moment’s notice.

It took a great deal of effort to muster up the breath to choke out his words. “I yield.”

The two soldiers on the pedestal crumbled into shards of ice. The chain fell away from his neck and he choked in rapid breaths as if he hadn’t breathed in centuries. The soldier with the crossbow shattered, followed by the one with the guns. The soldier with the daggers reeled in its blades, and it gave George one last blank stare just before it crumbled.

George’s leg gave out beneath him, but his one frozen leg couldn’t bend the rest of the way, so it slid out behind him and he landed on his knee. He braced his free hand against the stone. His frozen hand still wouldn’t release his shield, and ice spread from his fingers to the metal. He shivered in the overwhelming cold. He scrabbled for his sword and managed to grab it. He brought it in front of him and rested the point on the ground so he had something to support himself on, and he just touched it to the stone when his right hand frosted over. A burning cold grew in his stomach where the crossbow bolts had hit him, and his unfrozen leg stiffened with ice from the bullet wound in his flesh.

He grimaced as frost snaked up towards his face. His vision began to blur around the edges. He wanted to fall over and curl up on the ground, but he was frozen in place. Half of his body wasn’t even part of him anymore. It was just a frozen statue on a stone pedestal in the middle of nowhere.

Ice crackled as it spread across his body. Everything went dark, and his chest shuddered with one last breath just before his body turned to ice and he slipped away.

* * *

George’s eyelids fluttered open. His gaze was met with darkness, illuminated by only the slightest bit of light, and it took him a moment to remember where he was. He was in a cave with Tiger.

His entire body was numb. He might have been shivering, but he couldn’t tell. One quick glance down told him that he was caked in a layer of frost. Tiger was huddled into his chest, and he panicked for a moment, thinking maybe she was dead, but her chest rose and fell at a steady pace. Her body was void of ice, and her claws scraped against his icy legs as she squirmed in her sleep.

He slowly moved his right hand. It trembled, and frost crackled and fell away from his body as he lifted it. His fingers were frozen together in a loose fist, as if he was clutching his sword in his grip. He tried to move them, but they wouldn’t budge. His skin was black with frostbite beneath the ice.

He rested his hand back where it was on the floor. Even if he could get out of this alive, most of his body was frozen. He’d probably never be able to use his fingers again. He certainly wouldn’t be able to fight anytime soon.

A sharp pain jabbed through his mostly numb leg. He winced. It felt as if a bullet had buried itself in his flesh, but he couldn’t exactly move enough to check.

Then he remembered the entire battle he’d just gone through. Had that actually happened? Or had it just been some sort of dream?

His eyes drifted shut again. There was no point trying to stay alive. Even if he could, he’d be useless.

A faint voice whispered in his head. He tried to ignore it, but it was persistent. He focused on it, silently trying to figure out what it was saying.

 _Well, you’re not supposed to give up now,_ the voice whispered. _Hold out a little longer. You passed half the test. Now you just need to push through. You were supposed to give up, but now you need to persevere. You are no fool, Ragan. You won’t die like this._

He shook his head as much as he could. There was no point to keep on suffering if he was just going to die anyway. Why was the voice trying to keep him alive?

But he couldn’t make himself drift back into unconsciousness, no matter how much he wanted to. The faintest hint of hope bloomed in his chest. He could wait for another minute, at least. For what, he didn’t know, but he kept himself awake.

Tiger wriggled against his chest. He didn’t know how she wasn’t as cold as he was, but he figured that maybe it had something to do with that dream he just had. He froze, and then he woke up frozen. Nevertheless, he was glad Tiger was okay. If she somehow froze to death while he was asleep, he’d never forgive himself.

It might have been his imagination, but a very faint roar reverberated through the air and made its way into their small cave. He felt himself drifting away, but he forced his eyes open a little just so he would stay awake.

Another louder roar met his ears. It sounded like it was coming closer. The temptation to just close his eyes and rest was overwhelming, but he pushed the urge deep down. Just a little longer. He had to hold out for just a little longer.

The ground shook, as if some huge creature landed just outside. Cracking sounds echoed through the air, like the trees themselves were breaking in half, followed by a deafening screech of a dragon. The dragon sounded vaguely familiar, but he couldn’t quite place where he’d heard it before. The only thing he was focused on was surviving for a just a few more minutes.

At the sound of the dragon, Tiger squeaked and perked up. She whimpered and hopped off George. He heard the sound of her claws skittering across the stone as she ran to the entrance of the cave. He wanted to tell her to stay inside since she could freeze out there, but he couldn’t make himself speak.

The dragon roared again. After a few moments, his brain presented him with the name of the dragon.

He turned to the entrance of the cave. “Monarch,” he managed to whisper through his numbing lips.

He managed to keep his eyes open just enough to see a blurry image of the entrance to the cave. His shield still blocked out the wind, but a pair of hands grasped the edge and pulled. The shield popped out of the opening to be replaced by what might have been a person.

That was all he saw before he let his eyes close. He held out as long as he could. He had to let himself rest now. He hoped he’d been able to stay alive to accomplish... whatever it was he was supposed to do. What was he doing there again? How had he gotten there?

Footsteps scuffled against the floor. “What the hell happened to you?” a voice said. “How long have you been here?”

Tiger squeaked. The footsteps stopped next to George. “How did you get frozen to the ground?” the person whispered. They shuffled closer. An arm went under his knees and another rested behind his back. The contact almost stung with heat against his frozen skin, but it quickly settled into a pleasant warmth.

The arms slowly managed to lift him off the ground. Ice cracked and fell away from his body. “Don’t worry, I got you, man,” the person said. “I knew I sensed something flying over here, but I didn’t think it was you.” They picked George up and held him close. “You’re not as heavy as I thought you’d be. Guess that makes this easier.”

George’s head spun and his hearing began to fade. _You passed,_ the voice hissed in his head. _That bullet in your leg should suffice as your piece. Congratulations._

A familiar dragon purr rumbled in front of him. He wanted to open his eyes and at least say hello to his dragon, but couldn’t do it no matter how hard he tried.

“Jordon can fix him up once we find the others,” the person said. “He’ll be fine, Monarch.”

The dragon’s throat rumbled in response. George managed to open his eyes for a second and caught a glimpse of a large blue shape before his eyelids fluttered shut again.

“Well, your eyes are glowing,” the person said. “Guess that’s a good sign.” A pause. “Hey Tiger, could you grab his shield please?”

Tiger squeaked. The sounds around him grew muffled, as if his ears had been plugged up with cotton. He wanted to hop onto his dragon’s back and fly away, but the most he could manage to do was squirm a little in the person’s arms.

“Don’t worry about it, George,” the person’s quiet voice said. “I can drive your dragon. You just focus on staying alive.”

George reluctantly resigned himself to being carefully lifted onto Monarch’s back. The other person climbed on behind him, and he huddled as close to them as he could, searching for any source of warmth.

The person wrapped their arms around George in a brief hug. “You’re okay, I got you, man.” They took a deep breath. “Let’s go find the others.”

The world tilted as the dragon beneath them took off. George leaned against the person’s chest and took a great shuddering breath as they flew away.


	46. Cashed Out

Dylan woke with an overwhelming sense of confusion.

He blinked furiously in the bright light of the moon as he was pulled out of his dreams. Weird dreams were no stranger to him, and this one was no exception. He was pretty sure he’d been in a different world, one where he and the other four heroes were best friends and... weren’t they just wearing masks? That wasn’t an uncommon occurrence in his dreams, so he wouldn’t be surprised if they were. They were definitely on a stage, and there were lights, and people, and...

He shook his head. That didn’t matter right now. He could deal with those random dreams later. _This_ world was more important at the moment.

He sat up and looked around. He was sitting on the surface of a frozen lake. He pushed himself to his feet, sliding around on the ice beneath him. He wobbled, but he flailed his arms and managed to stay upright.

As soon as he was stable on his feet, he began to wonder where he was. The most logical answer was that he was still in the Land of the Dead, but he got the feeling that wasn’t right. None of the other places were this cold, so he assumed he was on one of the Five Islands. That place was pretty cold, wasn’t it? It was about as far north as a person could get. Well, aside from Canada. That was pretty far north.

He glanced around. There was nothing recognizable around him. Of course, his first thought was about Dove and Grenade and where they might be, but he shook the concern from his head. If he was okay, they were, too. They were strong, independent dragons. They could manage on their own until he found them.

Well, as long as he was here, he might as well start moving. Maybe there was some sort of land mass around. Unless he had landed right on the ocean. That wouldn’t have been good. If he walked in the wrong direction, he’d eventually reach a part of the water that wasn’t so frozen, and he might fall right in. He hoped that wouldn’t happen.

He picked a random direction and started towards it. He still had the bag on his shoulder that Anna had given him back in the Underground, but he hadn’t really explored its contents. He reached in with one hand and rummaged around.

He brought out a compass. The glass was cracked from his fall, but he saw that the little needle was pointed at the W. It would have been useful to have a compass if he knew where exactly he was.

He shoved it back in his bag and kept digging through. Anna had packed him a canteen of water. That might come in handy, if he couldn’t make his way off this frozen lake and find the others soon. A small cloth bag of money sat among the various other things. That wouldn’t be very useful since he was in the middle of nowhere, but he appreciated the thought. Anna must have seen him snitch Danny’s coin purse to pay for his breakfast on their last day in the Underground and figured that he couldn’t pay for himself. She wasn’t exactly wrong. He survived off stolen money from nobles. Still, she didn’t need to give him money, and he felt a little guilty that she felt the need to provide for him.

As he rummaged through the various knickknacks Anna had packed for him, he stumbled on a particularly slippery patch of ice. He flailed wildly in an attempt to stay upright, but it accomplished nothing aside from making him fall over faster. His foot slipped out from under him and he fell to the ground. The sound of something else skidding across the ice met his ears, and he sat up to see a small crystal sliding away from him. A tiny cloud of darkness radiated off its surface, and it took him a moment to realize that it was the same crystal the dragon rider had gotten from the No-Way-Out Caves. He must have kicked it as he fell.

He scrambled to his feet with a great deal of effort and scooped up the crystal. He quickly shoved it in his bag. They would still need that for later, if they were going to use it to defeat the dragon rider.

He grabbed the last thing in his bag he hadn’t seen yet. His hand closed on a rolled up piece of paper. He pulled it out and unfurled it. Great. A map. Considering he had no idea where he was, that wouldn’t help him much at all.

He put it back into his bag and kept walking. That was really all he could do. He just hoped he didn’t end up walking straight into the ocean.

The wind picked up and howled in his ears. He could have sworn the wind sounded almost like a voice, but that wasn’t possible. There was no one else in sight. He was just hearing things.

_Dylan._

He yelped and whirled around, glancing at the landscape around him for the source of the voice. “Who’s there?”

 _We didn’t get to speak earlier, did we?_ the voice said. _You decided to take a friend into the caves with you. That was quite rude of you, wasn’t it?_

Dylan flicked his wrists, and his daggers shot into his hands. A mild sense of panic welled up in his chest. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he blurted.

_You were supposed to find your way out by yourself. But you cheated, so you have to do it now._

“Cheated?” Dylan scoffed. “When did I cheat? What was I cheating at? Imma need some explanations here, voice.”

 _The No-Way-Out Caves,_ the voice whispered. _You have a piece of us, but you don’t deserve it. Not yet. You must face your trial alone._

Dylan shook his head. “What the hell is my trial? Was it Grenade being taken away? News flash: my dragons ain’t even here. You can’t take something I don’t have.” He shrugged and kept walking. “You ain’t got nothing on me, voice.”

He could almost hear the grin in the voice when it spoke again. _You think so?_

A loud crack echoed across the frozen water. He looked down, and his heart skipped a beat when he saw the large crack in the ice beneath his feet.

He skittered away. “Nope, nope, nope! Fuck this!”

The crack snaked across the ice after him. _You can’t escape this, Dylan,_ the voice said. _If you want the power from the Caves, this is what you have to do._

Dylan grit his teeth. “What if I don’t want it?”

The cracking ice stopped. _Do you?_ the voice asked. _Tell the truth Dylan. We can see right through you._

He stayed silent, wracking his brain. He was sick of being a hero, and he was tired of the constant danger, but he just couldn’t bail on the other heroes now. If he could somehow get the power they needed to help defeat the dragon rider, he would do it, no matter what it took.

_Then your trial begins now._

The ice cracked, and he was plunged into freezing water.

He didn’t even have time to take a breath before he disappeared into the murky ocean. Every muscle seized up as the cold sent a shock through his body. He almost gasped in a breath when he fell in, but he managed to keep in the little air he had. He opened his eyes and frantically swam upwards. He broke the surface and heaved in great gulps of air, but then he noticed that the shattered ice was freezing up around him. Ice rapidly circled around him, its sharp edges glinting in the moonlight, and he figured he had two options: try to get out of the water and get cut in half by the ice, or go back under and find another way out.

He chose the second option. He took a huge breath and dunked back under the water. The ice closed above him just as he submerged himself. He swam back up and pounded on the ice with his fist, trying to see if it would break and let him back up, but nothing happened.

He pushed off the ice and bobbed downward, frantically glancing around with his blurry vision for a weaker spot. He tried not to think about the fact that most people could only hold their breath for two minutes, and it was possible to pass out at three, and permanent brain damage could occur at five. He just had to focus on getting back up to the surface before he passed out. How long had it been now? Ten seconds? Thirty?

Dylan swam through the water, scanning the ice above for a spot that seemed thinner than the rest of the ice as his wet clothes dragged him down. This was fucking ridiculous! How did that voice expect him to get out of this?

A faint dark shape moved out of the corner of his eye. He turned towards it, but it darted out of his line of sight before he could figure out what it was.

A dagger appeared in his hand. If something was down here with him, he had no doubt that it could rip him to pieces before he could escape or drown.

Another dark shape zipped by him. Then another. He unsheathed his other dagger. Should he try to fight these things off and then get out, or should he try to get out and risk these creatures tearing him apart when he wasn’t looking?

He kept one eye on the water around him as he swam along. He glanced at the ice, searching for a weak spot, but he couldn’t find one.

The urge to breathe was getting harder to ignore. He desperately hoped he could hold out long enough to get out, but he was beginning to doubt that. He just had to keep calm and not panic. If he panicked, the urge to breathe would only get stronger, and he would just drown faster.

Something bolted towards him in the water and latched onto his arm. Sharp teeth dug through his sleeve into his flesh, and he suppressed the urge to scream out in pain. He swiped at it with his free hand, the creature let go just before he could stab it with his dagger. His hand brushed against what felt almost like a leathery bat wing before the creature disappeared into the darkness once again.

He glanced down. In the faint light of the moon shining through the ice, he caught a glimpse of red blood trailing from his arm. He hoped the little beasts weren’t attracted to the smell of blood, because if they were, he was about to be swarmed in them.

He heard the sounds of swishing water behind him and quickly paddled away. He kept his gaze up and looked for a spot in the ice he might be able to crack before those creatures ripped into him. If he had a choice of which way he would rather die, he was pretty sure he’d take the drowning.

Another black shape darted up to him and bit down on his leg. He grimaced and kicked furiously, trying to shake it off, but it refused to release him. It gnawed on his flesh and he almost sucked in a breath of water. _Don’t breathe, don’t breathe, don’t breathe_ , he repeated in his head as his lungs burned. _Don’t you dare fucking breathe. Once you breathe, you won’t stop, and you’ll drown._

Another creature snapped at his arm. Its fangs pierced into him and it ground its teeth. He could have sworn he heard that disembodied voice giggling at his misfortune as he bit his lip to keep himself from crying out. If this was a trial, this was the worst fucking trial ever. Well, aside from the shit Danny went through in the Restless Spire. That was pretty fucked up. Burning alive was confirmed to be one of the most painful things in the world.

But he was starting to question the validity of that statement as both creatures on him began tearing at his limbs. He clenched his teeth so hard he was sure one of them was going to break. He jabbed at the one on his leg first, and his blade just managed to graze it. The creature let go and swam away, and he immediately swung at the one on his arm. He couldn’t spot it in the darkness and missed on the first swipe. Trying to block out the sound of the voice laughing at him, he went for a second stab. The creature released its jaw and swam away.

Blood leaked into the water around him as he tried to swim away. His lungs burned and he frantically scanned the ice above him, every part of his body screaming at him to breathe. He spotted a small circle of ice where the light of the moon shone brighter and quickly paddled over to it. If he could just break the ice...

He jabbed one of his daggers into the ice to keep himself in place. Another creature zipped towards him, but he whipped at it with his other dagger and it darted away. He started chipping away at the ice with his knife, his lungs begging for air. Black spots danced at the edge of his vision. No, no, just a little longer, he just had to get out and he’d be fine!

His body screamed for oxygen. A spasm wracked his chest and he couldn’t help but suck in a breath of water. Freezing water streamed into his lungs. His knives slipped from his grip and he curled in on himself, clutching his chest with his hands as panic set in and his vision tunneled. His lungs seized with every airless breath, trying to dispel the water and replace it with something that wasn’t there.

Black creatures floated around him, but he hardly noticed them through the sheer terror. He flailed about in the water as if that would somehow help him escape. He was so close to the surface! He couldn’t die now!

Through his panic, he was just barely aware of something dragging him through the water. He didn’t know where it was taking him or what it even was, but he was too busy drowning to care. He frantically tried to paddle towards the surface, but it was then that he noticed that the thing was pulling him _upwards_.

This just registered in his head when he broke the surface of the water. He hacked the water from his lungs, breathing in grateful gasps of clean air as the thing that had rescued him released its hold on his cloak.

He grabbed the edge of the ice and hauled himself up. Water spilled from his mouth, and he was aware of clawed dragon feet skittering around him, accompanied by the sound of concerned squeaking and chirping. He paid them no mind, since he was busy trying to get the liquid out of his lungs.

Once he was sure he wasn’t going to die, he took a few deep breaths and looked up at the dragon that saved him.

He was greeted with the sight of golden wings shining in the moonlight. The dragon whimpered and nudged him with its snout.

He reached up and scratched her on the head. “Hey Lion. Thanks.”

Lion sat down on the ice and rested her chin on the top of his head. Exhausted from his near death experience, he heaved a great sigh and leaned against her. He hoped that he had somehow managed to get some of the power they needed to defeat the dragon rider. If he went through all that for nothing, he’d be pissed.

Lion looked up and squeaked. Dylan followed her gaze and spotted two small shapes soaring through the air. His head buzzed and pulled him towards the two shapes, and he knew that one of the other guys must have found him. His mind was still muddled with fear and exhaustion, but he examined the two shapes as they came closer and realized with a small burst of relief and joy that they were Dove and Grenade.

Grenade seemed to notice that it was his companion on the ground, because a happy squawk echoed through the air. Dylan smiled as Dove and Grenade skidded to a stop in front of him. The dragons tromped up to Dylan, and someone fell off Grenade’s back from the force of the landing. Dylan didn’t pay attention to the person and instead reached up to pet Grenade.

“Hey buddy,” he said softly.

Grenade purred and nuzzled Dylan’s hand. Dove whined and nudged Dylan’s shoulder, and Dylan gave her a pat on the head too so she wouldn’t feel left out.

The person who had fallen off Grenade scrambled to his feet. “Hey Dilly,” Jordon’s voice said. He slipped around on the ice and almost tumbled into the hole in the frozen lake that Dylan had just crawled out of. He gave Dylan a relieved smile, but it quickly morphed into a concerned frown when he looked over Dylan’s wounds. “Holy shit, you okay?”

Dylan shrugged, chest still heaving. The bleeding bite marks were beginning to ache more now that he was out of the water, but he didn’t want to worry Jordon. “Yeah. Just went for a swim.”

Jordon began digging through his bag. “Lemme see.”

He crouched next to Dylan, and Dylan let him roll up Dylan’s sleeves to look at the wounds. A breeze blew past them and he shuddered in the cold. He’d freeze if he didn’t dry off soon.

Dylan kept his gaze on the sky as Jordon muttered to himself and began threading a needle. He didn’t like getting stitches, but if Jordon thought he needed them, he wouldn’t protest.

Another shape appeared in the sky. A large dragon soared down towards them, a line of ridges trailing down its back, and Dylan weakly gestured to it with one hand. “Yo, Jordy. I think that’s your boy.”

Jordon looked up. A faint grin twitched across his lips at the sight of Viral. “Thank fuck.” He turned back to Dylan’s arm. “Let’s hope he brought the other guys with him.”

Viral stumbled to a landing on the ice. It cracked beneath his feet, but it held. He squawked and trotted up to Jordon.

A gold cape glittered on the back of the person riding Viral. Danny grimaced through the pain in his still burned leg, but he slid off Viral and landed on the ground next to the other two. He clutched the strap of his leather bag and bit his lip, his gaze trailed on the ice.

Jordon gave him a reassuring smile. “Hey man. I take it you’re gonna be sticking with us?”

Danny looked up. He scuffed his feet. “Yeah. I mean, if that’s okay. I— I’m sorry I left. I was just... scared.”

“It’s okay,” Dylan said. “You were doing what was best for you.” He winced as a sharp pain jabbed his arm. “Ow!”

“Sorry!” Jordon said, tugging the needle through Dylan’s skin along the teeth marks in his arm. “I should have warned you. My bad.”

Danny furrowed his brow. “Where are the other two?”

“Not sure,” Jordon mumbled, his eyes fixed on the needle in his hand. “Should we go find them, or...?”

“Don’t think we have to,” Dylan said. He nodded towards another large shape in the sky. “Here they come.”

Monarch’s wings almost blocked out the moon as he flew down towards them. With a start, Dylan realized that weren’t two, but four wings on Monarch’s back, and two blue dots of light showed where his eyes were. A jolt of fear pierced through each of them at the sight, wondering what the hell might have happened to make Monarch go off like this and why he hadn’t returned to his normal form yet.

Monarch gently lowered himself down onto the ice. Dylan looked up, expecting to see George behind the reins, but it was a shock to him when he saw that Jorel was the one riding the dragon. Tiger was twined around his shoulders as usual, and another person was huddled close to Jorel’s chest, shaking as if they were freezing. It took Dylan a moment to realize that it was George. And... it might have just been Dylan’s imagination, but... were Jorel’s eyes faintly glowing red?

Jorel looked down at Jordon. “We’ve got a problem.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we're in the endgame now motherfuckers


	47. We Own The Night

Jordon was lucky that Danny knew how to sew. That way, he could finish stitching up Dylan while Jordon made sure George didn’t die.

They left the frozen lake in favour of flying through the sky, searching for a safer place to set down. Danny and Dylan rode on Viral, where Danny was busy stitching up Dylan’s various wounds. Jordon went on Monarch so he could give George various medicines and try to keep him warm as Jorel handled the reins. No one knew why his eyes were glowing red, or why he could ride Monarch, or why George was practically frozen. He shivered and huddled close to Jordon as he sipped at some sort of herbal mixture Jordon had made.

As they soared through the air, Dylan was still freezing from his soaking wet clothes and the cold wind. He couldn’t stop shaking, but as soon as Danny finished patching up his wounds, he wrapped his arms around Dylan and held him close in order to shield him from the wind. Lion, Dove, and Grenade gathered around the two of them in a big cuddly pile of dragons, trying to keep Dylan warm.

However, Dylan figured that George was much colder than he was. The skin on George’s hands were black with frostbite, and he was covered in a thin layer of ice. He could hardly hold the bowl of medicine that Jordon gave him.

They were certainly in an interesting situation. They were all pretty sure they were in the Five Islands, but they had no idea how they’d gotten there. The last thing they all remembered before waking up in the snow was facing the dragon rider in the Imperial’s Keep. There was a flash of light, and then they weren’t in the Land of the Dead anymore. They didn’t know what had happened to send them there, or how the dragon rider had managed to send them away, or why they had all started hearing those voices again. George still hadn’t spoken, but the others hoped he might have some answers.

At one point during their flight, Danny furrowed his brow and gave Dylan a concerned look. “Hey, you okay?”

“Yeah?” Dylan said, a little confused. “Why?” He had stopped shivering a while ago, due to Danny’s warm cuddles. He was fine, so what did Danny think was wrong?

“You’re getting shadowy again.”

Dylan looked down. Darkness drifted off the edges of his cloak, trailing behind them as they flew through the clouds.

“I’m not upset,” Dylan muttered. “Don’t know why it’s doing that.” He turned to look at Danny and blinked in surprise. “Whoa.”

“What?” Danny asked. Dylan was looking at him like he’d grown a third eye, and he wondered what was so wrong that he warranted that kind of shocked expression.

“Hang on.” Dylan twisted around a little and grabbed Danny’s chin with one hand, examining Danny’s face with the most intent look Danny had ever seen. He gazed at Danny for a few seconds, and Danny was starting to get uncomfortable.

“Okay, I can’t tell if there’s a spider on my face or if you’re going to kiss me,” Danny said. “So either tell me what’s happening or let go of my face.”

“Sorry.” Dylan let go, but his gaze stayed connected with Danny’s. “Just... were your eyes always this... fiery? And I don’t mean that you look angry, I mean they’re practically glowing, homie. What’d you do, ingest a box of matches or something?”

Danny shook his head, a little troubled at Dylan’s observation. “No.” He turned to look at Lion. “Lion? Anything different?”

Lion took one look at him and squeaked. She leaned forward and snuffled at his face in confusion.

Meanwhile, over on Monarch, the other three were making some pretty interesting observations of their own.

Jordon had no warm water at his disposal, so trying to make medicine that would help heat George up was difficult. Sure, he had some spices and peppers that might be able to raise his body heat a little, but overall, there wasn’t much he could do. The only mildly useful thing he had with him was a thin blanket he had packed back on Sunset Island. It had sat unused in his bag until now. Jordon had draped it over George’s shoulders in a useless attempt to help him get warm again.

Jordon swished the water around in his canteen as George slowly sipped at a concoction that Jordon had thrown together. His fingers had thawed enough that they were no longer stuck together, and considering that they were black with frostbite, it was a miracle he could still use them. He clutched the bowl Jordon used for his medicine with trembling hands.

There was no way that George would be able to fight anyone anytime soon in this state. Jordon didn’t even know if George would be able to survive through this, and the thought send a pang of overwhelming concern through him. They needed George. He was their leader, but more than anything, he was part of their family. They’d be lost without him.

As Jordon tapped his fingers on his canteen, he began to notice that the container had started to feel oddly warm. He furrowed his brow and looked down at it. A small plume of steam rose up from the opening, and on either side of the canteen, smoke curled off his fingers. He stopped tapping on the canteen and stared at it in bewilderment. The water was warm.

He turned his attention to George’s leg. He’d noticed the bullet wound in the flesh earlier, but George’s entire limb was frozen over, so he couldn’t remove it unless he had something to thaw it with.

Jordon dug a cloth from his bag. “Hang on, Georgie.”

He folded up the cloth and placed it over the opening on his canteen. He tipped it over for a second to dampen the cloth with the warm water. “Can I try to fix your leg?” he asked.

George blinked, processing the question, then nodded slowly. Jordon carefully lowered to the cloth to George’s leg. “This might burn a little,” he warned. The water wasn’t that hot, but to a frozen hero, it might feel a lot hotter than it was.

He pressed the cloth to George’s leg. The ice on his skin steamed from the heat, but George didn’t even wince. He must have been numb, which wasn’t a good sign, but Jordon figured he’d try to remove the bullet anyway. He took the cloth away and brought out a pair of tweezers. The wound was shallow, thank goodness, so it didn’t take much for him to pinch the end of the bullet and pull it out.

George gasped as the bullet left his leg. Blood gushed out from the wound, and Jordon quickly pressed the wet cloth to it to stem the bleeding. George took deep, heaving breaths, as if he had just run for miles, and blinked at the sky around him as if he just realized where he was.

“Holy shit,” he whispered, the first words Jordon had heard him speak since they reunited.

Jordon stared down at the large bullet still clamped between his tweezers. It didn’t look like an ordinary bullet. It was made of ice, and frost snaked up the tweezers towards Jordon’s hand.

George reached out a hand, which somehow wasn’t trembling anymore, and took the bullet from the tweezers. He turned it between his frosted fingers. Oddly enough, the ice on his skin began to thaw, and the blackness of his fingers stared to fade.

He may have been thawing, but he still shivered, so Jordon took the near empty bowl from George’s hand and started tossing ingredients in with the now warm water in his canteen. He had no idea how that happened, but he would take what he could get.

George tapped a finger on the bullet. He no longer felt cold, and he immediately knew why. The voice in God’s Vision had said “the bullet in your leg will suffice”. He hadn’t known what that meant before, but now that his mind was beginning to clear, he realized that this ice bullet must have been the same as the twig from the Grove of Loss or the piece of wood they’d retrieved from the Restless Spire. It was the last piece they needed in order to harness the same power the dragon rider used and defeat him.

The only question was, what kind of power was it? Since they all had that kind of power, would they all just get physically stronger? Would they gain magic abilities they hadn’t had before? Would all their powers be different since they had different pieces from Angeles? There was no way to know. All he hoped was that it wouldn’t mess them up as much as that kind of power had messed up the dragon rider.

Jordon stared down at the stuff in his bowl. He had more or less made a sort of soup with the peppers and various herbs he kept in his bag. Hopefully it would be warm enough to help George regain some of his body heat.

He held the bowl out to George. “Here. This should help more.”

George shook his head. He wasn’t cold at all. In fact, he almost felt warm. “I’m good. Thanks for the help though, man.”

Jordon gave George his best “stern mom” look. “You’re still half frozen. Just drink the damn soup.”

George wanted to roll his eyes, but he knew Jordon was just concerned, so he took the bowl and sipped at it. Oddly enough, the water was warm. Even though he wasn’t cold anymore, the beverage warmed him from the inside, and he gave a content sigh as he lowered the empty bowl from his lips.

Jordon furrowed his brow and gave George a quick once-over. “Well, you’re not shivering anymore. Guess that’s a good sign. You numb anywhere?”

George shook his head. The bleeding bullet wound in his leg was very obvious and quite painful, and the feeling had returned to his fingers and toes almost as soon as the bullet was removed.

George tucked the icy bullet in his pocket. A buzzing sensation rose up in the back of his head, and judging from the way Jorel guided Monarch downwards to the land below them, he felt it too.

George looked up at Jorel. “We found something?”

Jorel turned around and nodded. “Yep. It’s just below us. Just gotta find a place to land.” His eyes glinted red in the dim light of the moon, and just before he turned around again, a red stripe that looked almost like blood streaked across his face and disappeared.

Jordon and George exchanged a confused glance. Something was happening to all of them, and they weren’t sure whether it was good or bad.

Monarch touched down in the snow, and Viral landed carefully next to him, giving Monarch a wide berth to make room for his four wings. All five heroes slid off onto the ground, followed by their dragons. George looked over at Viral and noticed that as soon as Danny stepped onto the snow, it steamed and melted around his feet. Shadows drifted off Dylan’s shoulders and gathered on the ground. Lion, Dove, and Grenade all sniffed at their companions in varying degrees of confusion.

Jordon shouldered his bag. George glanced at him and startled when he saw that a small patch of skin on Jordon’s neck had turned red and rough, like it was made of rock. It briefly turned black, and a crack snaked through the rocky patch. The crack glowed orange as a small wave of smoke drifted from it and curled on Jordon’s shoulder. He didn’t seem to notice.

George furrowed his brow and examined each of them. Dylan reached up and scratched his neck, and George caught a glimpse of a spot on his hand that glittered like it was made of crystal. A trail of shadows followed his hand as he moved it back down to his side. Danny was busy grumbling over the fact that his boots were now wet from the melted snow around his feet, but he didn’t seem to notice that a tiny plume of fire flickered on the back of his neck as he bent down to wring the water out of his pant leg. Jorel kept his hands on the throwing axes at his belt, and a red streak appeared in the skin on his hand before it melted away. He shifted his feet, and George saw a small sapling of a tree with black bark where his foot had just been. It bloomed with white leaves and stretched upward as it miraculously grew taller next to Jorel.

“It’s not just me, is it?” Danny spoke up, shaking the water off his boot. “Something’s different. This isn’t normal.”

Jordon nodded. “Yeah. I... I don’t know what’s going on, but there’s definitely _something_ happening.”

Jorel glanced down at the tiny tree sapling that had grown up to his knee. “Does anyone else feel like they could fight their way through a whole army, or is it just me?”

It wasn’t just him. They all felt it. Some kind of powerful strength rippled just beneath the surface, but none of them knew what exactly it was or how to use it.

George reached into his pocket and pulled out the icy bullet that had been stuck in his leg. Frost still coated his fingers, but it didn’t hurt, and it didn’t even feel cold. “I think it’s because of these,” he said, turning the bullet between his fingers.

The others seemed to know what he was talking about. They all reached into their pockets and bags and brought out the various objects from places around Angeles.

Jordon tossed the rock from Bullet’s Edge from hand to hand. It turned black for a brief moment, and smoke seeped from the glowing orange cracks. The rocky patch on Jordon’s neck did the same. “You think these are doing this to us?”

George nodded. His head buzzed, and he looked up at the ground ahead of them, where the snow was less packed. “I think we should discuss this somewhere else,” he mumbled. He walked forward, and the others followed him.

He stepped on the thinner patch of snow. To his surprise, he didn’t need to touch the ground with his skin. Glowing blue footprints lit up under the snow as he walked on it.

Jordon and Dylan stepped onto the patch of snow, and orange and green footprints appeared beneath them. Danny and Jorel weren’t too far behind. The snow melted as Danny stepped on it, revealing grey rock under the thin veil of snow.

The ground rumbled, and then the rock disappeared out from under them. George had been expecting that, but it still caught him off guard. He flailed as if that would help him stay upright, and he felt something beneath his feet, leading him downwards as he slid on the surface that had just appeared under him. A grey stone floor entered his vision, and he slid onto it and almost stumbled and fell on his face. Luckily, he managed to stay on his feet. He glanced behind him and saw a slide made of ice trailing from the hole in the ceiling to his feet.

Dylan landed on the ground, just narrowly avoiding hitting the icy slide. He glanced from George to the ice. “Damn, Elsa. Where’d you get powers like that?”

George tossed the icy bullet in the air and caught it. “You know no one else understands that reference, right?”

Dylan shrugged indifferently. Despite the multicoloured lines snaking around the entire cave, he almost blended in with the darkness.

Jordon, Danny, and Jorel all gazed around the cave as blue, green, yellow, orange, and red lights filled the room. “Is there a hero in this one?” Jorel asked.

“Yeah, Georgie hasn’t had his ghostly counseling session yet,” Danny said.

George shook his head. “There’s no one here for me. I think it’s just a rest point or something.”

Dylan furrowed his brow. “There ain’t no more ghosts? But what about the old hero who came before you?”

George looked him dead in the eye. “Dyl, I’m a thousand years old. I _am_ the old hero. No one came before me.”

Dylan’s eyes widened. “Oh shit, I forgot you were old as fuck.”

“Wait,” Danny said. “So, you knew all of those old ghost heroes in the other caves?”

George nodded. “Yeah. I mean, their names and faces are a little fuzzy, because it’s been so long. That, and... I was never quite as close with them as I am with all of you. I mean, I didn’t know them as long as I’ve known you guys, which I know isn’t that long, but still. The hero before Jorel died within a day. I hardly knew his name.” He shrugged. “I was the only one of us left after the whole ‘human colonization’ thing. Monarch and I kinda failed at keeping them safe. That’s partially why Monarch and I went totally apeshit when humans decided to try coming to our Keep.” He shook his head. “But that’s in the past. It’s fine now.”

It wasn’t really fine. George still felt guilty for dragging the other past heroes to their deaths. Jorel must have sensed that George was lying and clapped him on the shoulder with a smile. “Dude, it’s fine. You haven’t gotten us killed yet.”

“There have been a lot of close calls,” George pointed out. He thought back to his and Dylan’s argument in the Land of the Dead. Dylan had been right in a lot of ways. He didn’t have to drag anyone else into this hero thing, but he did anyway. He knew what could have happened to everyone else, and he had no right to get them mixed up in this.

“Hey, I know that look,” Jorel said firmly. “Jordon gets that same look sometimes. Stop feeling guilty about shit you’ve done in the past. You’re fine, man. Don’t worry about it. That shit happened a thousand years ago.”

Dylan rested his elbow on George’s shoulder. “Yeah. Chill out, homie. I know I said some shit earlier, but I’m honestly pretty damn glad I agreed to go along with this. Y’all are some chill people.”

They were interrupted by a yelp behind them. They turned around to see Danny on his back on the ground, sliding away on the sheet of ice that was currently spreading across the floor.

“Sorry!” Danny said as he tried to scramble to his feet. He slipped and almost fell again, but Jordon glided past him and held him up.

“You good, man?” Jordon asked.

Danny nodded. The ice began to melt under his boots. “Yeah. Thanks.”

Jorel looked down at the ground. The ice hadn’t come out of nowhere— it was slowly spreading from George’s feet to the rest of the room.

Dylan gave a low whistle. “I was just joking when I called you Elsa, man.”

Jorel tapped on the ice with his boot. A red line appeared in the skin on his neck before it disappeared again. “So... that place I found you in was God’s Vision, wasn’t it? The last place the rider mentioned?”

“Yeah,” George said. He looked down at the bullet in his hands. “The voice there told me that you guys all had to go through trials. Are you all... okay?”

Danny shrugged. “More or less.”

Dylan scoffed. “Well, I almost drowned, but I guess I’m not dead.”

“Took me a bit to stop thinking abut it,” Jordon admitted, “but yeah.”

Jorel touched his bloody bandages on one arm. “I don’t think I’m dying, so yeah, I’m okay.”

George glanced at the blood on Jorel’s arm. “I’m sorry I dragged you guys into this. None of this would have happened if I’d left you alone.”

“Man, stop apologizing,” Jordon said. “You sound like Danny.”

Danny crossed his arms. “I don’t apologize that much.”

“You said sorry for slipping on a patch of ice just a minute ago,” Jorel pointed out. “Who the hell were you apologizing to?”

“I interrupted your heartfelt conversation!” Danny said. “I was just trying to say sorry for that!”

“I think we’re all missing the point here,” Dylan broke in. He held out his hands. Shadowy mist wafted off his skin and settled on the floor. “We all have powers, but we have no idea what they are or how to use them.”

“They’re definitely not the same as the dragon rider’s,” George said. “He used almost all of these objects, and he probably used all of the power on his dragon. Since we each only used one, we all have different powers.”

Jorel looked down at the ice coating the floor around George’s feet. “Pretty sure yours are ice powers. Look at you, man.”

George didn’t have to look at himself. He may not have felt cold anymore, but there was still a thin layer of frost that covered most of his body. It crackled every time he moved.

George considered everything the five of them had gone through and tried to think about that might mean for the powers they gained. Whatever magic Jorel had seemed pretty cool. That tree sapling he’d somehow grown outside looked just like one of the trees in the Grove of Loss, but the blood red stripes that sometimes appeared on his skin were a little concerning. Another rocky patch had formed on the back of Jordon’s hand, and smoked curled off his skin as the cracks glowed orange. George wasn’t quite sure what kinds of powers Jordon had, but they seemed interesting. Dylan’s powers were obvious— the guy was surrounded in shadows, and it was difficult to see him even in the brightly lit room. As for Danny... well, George had a sneaking suspicion about what kinds of powers Danny might have gained, and he got the feeling that Danny wouldn’t be too pleased about it.

Jordon rolled the rock from Bullet’s Edge between his hands. “I don’t know what I can do, but I think it’s gonna be fuckin’ awesome,” he said with a grin.

“Same,” Jorel muttered. A small sapling sprouted through the stone floor at his feet. He nudged it with his toe.

Dylan tossed his crystal from hand to hand. His entire body seemed to phase in and out of existence. “Man, if I had this earlier, I coulda robbed so many houses.”

Danny tapped his foot on the melted ice at his feet. “Welp, I dunno what I got. Maybe I didn’t get anything.” A tiny flame flickered behind his ear, and the hazel irises of his eyes glowed like tiny disks of fire.

The other four exchanged a knowing glance. “Uh, Danny?” Jorel said. “We’re pretty sure you’ve got powers, too.”

Danny shook his head and shrugged. “Don’t think so.” His eyes blazed with fire as he spoke.

Dylan leaned his elbow on Jordon’s shoulder. “I think he’s in denial,” he whispered.

“In denial about what?” Danny asked. “I don’t feel any magic powers or whatever. I don’t see anything different.” Melted ice steamed at his feet, dissipating into vapour. A defensive edge had creeped into his voice.

George raised an eyebrow skeptically. “Dude, you have fire powers.”

“No I don’t,” Danny snapped, his shoulders squared defensively. “I don’t have fire powers.” A flame licked up the side of his neck. His eyes blazed brighter.

“Yes you do,” Jorel insisted. “Look at yourself.”

Danny shook his head vigorously. “I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.” He crossed his arms in stubborn defiance as fire glowed in his eyes. His breathing quickened a little, and he dug his fingers into his right arm, as if gripping the burned flesh would somehow get rid of the powers he very obviously had.

The others all looked at each other, and they came to a consensus that they would leave the subject alone for now. Sending Danny into a panic wouldn’t help anyone.

“We’ll deal with that later,” George said. “For now, we just need to find the dragon rider and kick his ass.”

“But how do we do that?” Jorel asked. “He could probably be anywhere in Angeles by now. For all we know, he could already have killed half the dragons in the realm. We don’t know.”

Jordon blinked as multicoloured mist began to rise form the glowing lines on the floor. “Uh, guys? You seeing this?”

They all looked up at the mist swirling into the air. They half expected another dead hero to appear in the cave, but instead, the mist twisted into lines that connected into a large map of Angeles in front of them.

“Whoa,” Jorel whispered. He reached out and waved a hand through the red lines that made up the Swan’s Nest. They lost their shape and swirled around his hand before they reformed again.

Danny stared at the yellow lines of the Land of the Dead. “What is this for?”

Mist converged in the middle of the map and twisted tightly into a white dot. It hovered there for a moment, and they all watched as it suddenly darted over to the blue lines of the Five Islands. It rested over the largest island at the bottom of the V-shaped cluster, very close to five other dots, each one in their respective colours. A light pink dot sat on the smallest island of the Swan’s Nest, and a purple one was very slowly moving towards the northern edge of the Land of the Dead.

Jordon stood on his tiptoes to point at the cluster of dots in the Five Islands. “I think that’s supposed to be us.”

“So that must be Matt,” Dylan muttered, his gaze on the purple dot.

Jorel glanced at the pink dot. He was pretty sure that it was supposed to be Aron, but he wasn’t sure. He said nothing about it, and instead focused on the white dot hovering near the Five Islands.

“Who’s that supposed to be?” he asked, pointing to the white dot.

George furrowed his brow and stared at it, seemingly deep in thought. “Maybe...” More ice spread from his feet and coated the floor. His blue eyes looked colder than usual, and just the sight of his slightly glowing irises set Jorel on edge.

George’s eyes widened suddenly. “It’s the dragon rider.” He looked at the others, a flash of panic in his expression. “He’s coming here.”

A great roar echoed into the cave. All of them looked up at the hole in the ceiling as the sound shook the walls around them.

They didn’t even need to speak. Dylan drew a dagger and whipped it through the hole. It caught in the wall and he wrapped an arm around Danny, and the two of them disappeared into the ceiling. Jorel unsheathed his throwing axes, but before he could do anything, a black tree shot up from the ground. A branch caught under his foot as it raised him off the ground. He yelped and tumbled backwards, but he managed to grab a branch as it rapidly stretched upwards. He vanished into the ceiling.

Jordon and George exchanged a mildly confused glance, but they each grabbed a passing branch and let Jorel’s odd black tree lift them upward. George sent one last concerned glance at the map of Angeles below and the approaching dot that represented the dragon rider. He had a feeling their time as heroes was going to come to an end soon. He couldn’t tell whether that was a good thing or a bad thing.

They emerged from the underground cave and looked up. Monarch had planted his feet in a defensive stance, and Viral and the other dragons huddled behind him like scared hatchlings. Monarch’s four wings were raised and ready to fly. A white shape flew towards them from the clouds, and another deafening roar split through the air.

No words were spoken as the five of them all rushed to their dragons. Tiger twined around Jorel’s shoulders as he hopped onto Dove’s back, and Dylan clambered onto Grenade next to him. Jordon and Danny climbed onto Viral and Lion as George vaulted onto Monarch’s back. He picked up the reins, and each of them drew their weapons as the dragon rider soared down towards them. They weren’t sure if they’d be able to hold their own against him. However, they had to try. If they didn’t fight him, who would?

The rider and his dragon landed on the snow in front of Monarch. Before anyone could act, the rider dropped the reins and held up his hands, stepping out of the field of quills on the dragon’s back. “Wait!” he shouted.

Everyone paused. What was he doing?

The rider’s dragon lowered his head to let his rider step onto the ground. The dragon rider hopped down, his hands still in the air.

George tightened his grip on Monarch’s reins. “What do you want?”

The rider took a deep breath. “I’ve given things some thought,” he said, loud enough for all of the others to hear. “I am not surrendering by any stretch of the means, but I thought we could... discuss things.”

Jorel exchanged a skeptical glance with George. This guy had been on their ass for over a week, and now he just wanted to talk? He had to admit, it sounded suspicious.

“Discuss what?” Jorel demanded.

“My plans for Angeles,” the rider said, slowly lowering his hands. “Back when I found you in the Guardian’s Keep, I told you I wanted to exterminate dragons from the realm. I thought they were dangerous, and I was scared of them. But...” He glanced back at his dragon, who purred and nudged him with his snout. The rider scratched his dragon under the chin. A pang of fondness made its way into his voice when he spoke again. “That’s changed.”

The other five couldn’t conceal their surprise. Sure, the guy was close with one dragon, but had he really changed his mind about _all_ dragons? What exactly was he getting at here?

“So, you’re _not_ going to try to kill every dragon in the realm?” Jorel asked, raised an eyebrow in suspicion.

The rider shook his head. “No, we won’t. But we still want power. We’ve already gone to God’s Vision.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a crossbow bolt covered in a thin layer of frost. “We couldn’t go to the Restless Spire,” he said, shooting a glance at Danny, “but we have more than enough power to rule Angeles.” He hesitated, and his dragon nudged him for encouragement. “It’s not the dragons who should die.” He paused. “It’s the people.”

George’s blood ran cold. “What?”

The rider looked him dead in the eye. “The people on Sunset Island. I thought I was doing this to help them at first, to let humans live wherever they wanted, but now...” He shook his head. “Those people are awful. After we killed the Jailer, we realized that we don’t want to kill dragons. They’ve done nothing wrong. Neither have the people of the Underground. I called all of my dragons away from there and let them go. We couldn’t destroy a society built around living in harmony with dragons. But Sunset Island is different,” he said, a hard edge to his tone. “They kill dragons without reason. They don’t even try to understand dragons. They just cut their heads off and leave it at that. If the people of Sunset were gone, dragons could live there without fear.” He took a deep breath. “What I’m trying to say is... I want your help. I want you five to help me get rid of Sunset. Shade and I can set up our Keep there, and all the people left will be the ones who actually care about dragons. It’s not like the people of the Underground would miss Sunset. The Imperial’s rider wouldn’t miss it. Erlichman wouldn’t miss it. You guys wouldn’t miss it.” He held out a hand. “Will you help us?”

All five of them hesitated. They still thought that maybe he was tricking them, but his voice rang with sincerity. He wasn’t lying.

But more than that... they were _tempted_. Sunset Island was awful. Everyone there hated dragons. All five of them had been cast out from society simply for caring about dragons. Danny hadn’t seen another person in twenty years because he was scared of people. Dylan’s parents had been killed for keeping a dragon in the house. Jordon hid from people so he wouldn’t have to face the shame of being an executioner turned healer. Jorel saved dragons from executions and was forced to live alone because people would kill him for having Tiger. And George was made out to be a cautionary tale, a children’s story about the horrors of befriending a dragon. Hell, they had gone on this whole adventure because they thought one rogue person from Sunset had decided that all dragons should die, and they didn’t even question it. They knew people hated dragons, so the thought of one person wanting to kill every dragon in the realm wasn’t even a doubtable situation.

And as they all sat there and thought, they couldn’t help but wonder... what would the world be like if the only humans there cared about dragons? If the people of Sunset Island were gone, and the people from the Underground were the only ones left, and no dragons were being mercilessly killed just for existing... wouldn’t that be a perfect world? A world where they wouldn’t have to hide just for caring about dragons... the concept would have been unthinkable before. But now...

Now that possibility was right there in front of them.

The rider stood there in their silence. “I assume you’ll need to think about it,” he said quietly. He stepped back towards his dragon. He hopped onto the dragon’s back. “Come find us once you’ve made up your mind. We’ll be on Sunset when you need us.”

He picked up the reins. Before any of the five heroes could say anything, the rider and his dragon lifted into the air and soared into the clouds.

They all sat there on their dragons in silence. They were all thinking the same thing, but none of them voiced it until Jorel spoke up.

“He’s not wrong.”

Danny bit his lip. “He’s really not,” he whispered.

George stared down at the ground. “This certainly changes things.” Monarch’s throat rumbled in agreement.

They all fell quiet once again, wondering what to do. They couldn’t just abandon their roles as heroes now. They had to save the people of Sunset Island! But the temptation of a world where dragons and their human companions could live freely... it was almost too good to be true. Besides, Sunset was only one place. It’s not like it would effect the rest of the world if everyone there died.

They all looked at each other. What were they supposed to do?


	48. End Of The Line

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i apologize in advance for the ridiculously long chapter. i tried my best shave down the word count, and the shortest i got it was about 8700 words, which is better than the previous 9800. i spent way too much time on this chapter than i should have

On Sunset Island, everything was peaceful. People slept soundly in their houses. The moon shone brightly in the sky alongside the stars, and while most of the shops in the marketplaces had closed down by this time, people still milled about the streets. Taverns were filled to the brim with sailors, farmers, hunters, and shopkeepers, all relieved to have time off after a long day of work. Everything was as it should be throughout Sunset.

In one particular town, things carried on as normal. A dragon execution had occurred earlier, and to the lessening surprise of the townsfolk, no one came to stop it. One man and a small white dragon often saved dragons from being killed, but for just over a week, they hadn’t shown up.

Dragon executions or not, everything was quiet.

That is, until one noblewoman woke to the sound of a faint roar. Her eyes snapped open and she sat up.

“Darling, go back to sleep,” her husband muttered sleepily.

“But I heard a dragon,” she whispered.

“Everything’s fine,” he mumbled. “No more dragons are going to break in.”

She swung her legs over the side of the bed. She could just be afraid because of the dragon and the thief that had broken into their house a while ago, but that roar sounded so real.

When she heard nothing else, she laid back down. “Sorry. Thought I heard something.”

Her husband began snoring again within seconds. She tried to fall asleep again along with him. She just began to drift off when another roar met her ears, this one louder than the last.

She shot upright and nudged her husband. “Darling, did you hear that?”

Her husband furrowed his brow and opened his eyes. “What was that?”

The roar echoed through the air again. “It sounds like a dragon,” the woman said.

They hopped out of bed and rushed to the window. People in the streets were leaving their houses and staring up at the sky in confusion. The two of them scanned the clouds with a hint of fear.

A white shape appeared in the night sky. Everyone gazed at it with an increasing sense of unease.

The shape descended upon the town with a horrible screech. The townsfolk rushed back to their houses with a chorus of panicked shouting.

Before everyone could safely shut themselves away, a monstrous white dragon with a field of quills on its back slammed into the middle of the town with its powerful hind legs. It loosed a deafening roar. People covered their ears at the noise. Children began to cry as their parents ushered them indoors, gritting their teeth through the sound of the dragon’s rage.

A few people ran out into the streets, carrying various weapons. Fear glinted in their eyes, but they aimed their weapons at the dragon, ready to defend their town from this dangerous creature.

A noblewoman rushed out of her house in her nightgown, clutching a crossbow. She aimed it at the dragon, staring through the crosshairs, fighting back her fear as she prepared to fire.

Then she spotted something among the quills on the dragon’s back. A person stood there, clutching a set of reins that were tied to the dragon’s horns. The person’s face was hidden behind a cloth and a pair of goggles. He tugged on the reins, and the dragon reared its head back in a furious roar.

The woman’s husband ran up next to her. “Darling, what are you doing?”

She set her jaw and nocked the bow. She released the string, and a bolt thudded into the dragon’s side.

It turned its gaze on her. Its throat rumbled, and her fear spiked. The rider on the dragon’s back turned towards her. Her heart almost stopped when she saw that behind the goggles, the man’s eyes were glowing.

The ground trembled beneath her feet. She stumbled and grabbed her husband’s arm for support.

A fissure snaked through the ground and cracked the street wide open. As the townsfolk watched, people began to crawl out of the ground— except they weren’t _people_. Their skin was white as snow and nearly transparent. Smoky mist drifted off their tattered bodies beneath their golden armor. Their cheeks were sunken in, casting shadows across their rotting skin. One soldier’s head was caved in, and it hauled itself out of the ground with one arm. Another clutched a dagger in its fist and scrambled out of the dirt, but no head sat on top of its neck.

The dragon turned away and stormed down the street, roaring triumphantly to the sky as it crushed houses beneath its feet and blew freezing breath over the town.

A zombie soldier staggered up to the noblewoman and her husband, a sword and shield in its bony grasp. It raised its sword, and both the nobles were frozen with fear, unable to move from where they stood. The blade swung down towards the couple.

Just before it could connect with the woman’s skull, something stopped it. She stared at the sword. A black chain was wrapped around the blade. Dangling from the end of the chain was a razor sharp black dagger. The other end of the chain stretched into the sky.

The sword was yanked from the soldier’s grip and tossed into the air. The soldier stared at it’s empty grasp with hollow eyes.

A shadowy blur zipped past them, and the undead soldier collapsed to the ground with a gash across its neck. The couple stood there, shocked. The woman tugged on her husband’s arm and dragged him back to the house.

Dylan whipped his dagger back to his hand as Grenade soared back into the sky. A golden shape darted from the clouds and landed on top of a building. Danny nocked his crossbow and fired a volley of arrows into the white dragon’s hide. Fire flickered in his eyes as the dragon screeched and whirled around to face him.

A grey and white dragon soared over the town. Something leaped off its back and landed in the midst of the army of undead soldiers. Gunshots rang through the air, and with each one, an undead soldier collapsed to the ground. A man held his daughter close to his chest as a soldier swiped down at them with a dagger. A bullet tore through its head, and it crumpled in a heap before the father and his child. They looked up to see a man in a grey cloak wielding two revolvers shooting wildly into the fray of soldiers. One of them lunged at him with a sword. He shot into the dirt, and where the bullet had planted itself, a fissure opened up in the ground. The soldier stumbled into it. The fissure closed, swallowing the soldier whole. A rocky patch on the man’s neck cracked and glowed orange, as if his entire body was filled with lava.

The white dragon skittered back. People scattered to avoid its footsteps. “Only three of you?” the rider called out, a pang of annoyance in his voice. “Where are the other two? Have they made a different decision?”

No answer was needed. A black dragon with green stripes zipped past the rider’s face, a man on its back. Dove skidded to a stop in the middle of the road and Jorel hopped off, brandishing his spear. Tiger launched off his shoulders and leaped across the heads of the undead soldiers popping out of the ground. Jorel jabbed his spear through the chest of a soldier before it could shoot a lady running towards an alleyway. 

Another horrible roar burst through the air in the distance. People scurried into their houses, although quite a few remained outside with weapons so they could defend their people from these horrible dragons and undead soldiers and invading their town.

The rider turned his dragon around. A large blue dragon with four orange wings broke through the clouds and descended towards the town. Its eyes glowed like two tiny suns, and a loud rumbling growl echoed across the land as it made a beeline for the white dragon.

Jordon sheathed a revolver to punch an undead soldier in the face. Viral swooped down and snapped up a soldier that had been about to stab Jordon in the back. “Danny, how far are the undead spreading?”

Lion skipped across an alley to the top of another house. “Pretty far!” Danny shouted, staring out beyond the far reaches of the town. “We gotta get this fucker away from the people!”

“Leave that to me!”

They all looked up as Monarch and George swooped over the town. Monarch raked his claws across the white dragon’s face as he passed by. The dragon shrieked, more angry than pained. It spread its wings and took off into the air after Monarch.

Dylan whipped his dagger into the army of soldiers. The chain twisted around the wrist of a swordsman about to stab Jorel. “Lure them away from the town!” he shouted to the others.

Jorel slammed the pommel of his spear into the chest of another soldier. “I’ll stay here with the people! You lead the soldiers away!” A tree with black bark shot out of the ground next to him, piercing a dozen soldiers on its branches and lifting them into the air like gruesome Christmas decorations.

“Got it!” Jordon yelled. He shot another soldier in the head. “Hey dickheads, follow me!”

The soldiers seemed to listen. They began to ignore the townspeople and instead ran after Jordon. He sheathed a gun and raised an arm. Lion launched off the roof of the house she was perched on and flew to Jordon. Danny leaned down and reached for Jordon’s hand. He grabbed him and Lion rose into the sky again. They caught up to Viral, and Danny dropped Jordon onto his dragon’s back. Grenade darted after them.

Jorel held up his spear just as a soldier swung its blade down towards his head. He had been the first to suggest that joining the dragon rider and trying to kill the humans of Sunset Island would not be a good idea, but it had taken a lot of debate between all five of them to even reach that point. Of course the thought of a dragon utopia had been tempting. However, they hadn’t gone through all those shitty trials on the Five Islands just to turn over to the bad side and start killing people.

Jorel swiped his spear across the dirt. A line of black-barked trees shot up from the ground, blocking a bunch of soldiers from stabbing him in the head. This power he’d gained was odd, and he still didn’t quite know exactly what it was or how he was even using it. Trees sprouted at random and impaled soldiers on their branches. In the back of his mind, he was aware of every tree that sprouted, and if he managed to focus hard enough, he could choose where to make them grow. Clouds of darkness wafted from the bark and settled on the ground. He couldn’t shake the feeling that it was like he was growing a new Grove of Loss right on Sunset Island with each tree he summoned.

Dove screeched in panic as a bunch of soldiers advanced on her with swords in their hands. Jorel swiped a hand in her direction. A line of trees shot from the ground and impaled each one of the soldiers.

Tiger hopped onto a branch of one of the trees. She sniffed at the misty corpse of one of the soldiers in curiosity.

Meanwhile, Dylan was having problems of his own.

Grenade sprinted through the town at full speed, dozens of undead soldiers running after him. Most were too slow to keep up, but ghostly horses began to rise from the ground. Grenade was a fast runner, but not fast enough to outrun that many soldiers on horses.

He ducked as an arrow whizzed past his head. Shadows drifted off his body and wafted to the ground as Grenade ran. Dylan wasn’t quite sure how to use this strange power he’d gotten, but he figured now would be a good time to try figuring that out.

Grenade ducked into an alley. They sprinted between the buildings, and the soldiers had trouble squeezing through to follow them. They were almost at the edge of the town. So close...

A horse slammed into Grenade’s side. Dylan yelped as it knocked him off Grenade’s back, and both of them went tumbling into the dirt.

Dylan shook off his surprise and scrambled to his feet, daggers in hand. He spun them on their chains, readying himself for a battle on foot, but he paused when none of the soldiers rushed forward. They glanced about in confusion, as if searching for something that had just disappeared. They paid Grenade no mind. In fact, Grenade was looking about too. He gave an alarmed squawk that tapered off into a whine.

Dylan furrowed his brow, and little confused, but then he saw his hands— or rather, he didn’t. They had dissolved into shadows that swirled around the chains of his daggers, which were hardly visible in the darkness. He looked back up at Grenade, and it clicked. He was invisible.

A grin twitched across his face. Oh, he could totally work with this.

Jordon clung to one of Viral’s ridges with one hand as he shot into the fray of undead soldiers behind him. He was immensely relieved that the dragon rider hadn’t brought along his army of dragons. He didn’t think they could hold out if he did.

He stared at the grassy field at the edge of the town. It stretched far towards the horizon, and ghostly soldiers popped up out of crevices that snaked their way through the land. The last thing Jordon wanted to do was get caught in the middle of the army, but he had a funny feeling he would fare much better fighting on the ground.

He nudged Viral with his foot. “Can you bring us down there?”

Viral made an odd squeaking noise in his throat out of surprise. “Don’t worry,” Jordon said. “Just drop me off.”

Viral grumbled to express his apprehension, but he descended towards the field. Jordon wasn’t quite sure what was going to happen when he landed, but he got the feeling he could handle it.

Viral swooped down, and Jordon leaped off his back. He grunted as he landed in the grass. Soldiers around him looked up at the person who had just dropped in unexpectedly. Jordon took advantage of their shock. He planted bullets in the heads of six soldiers before they finally managed to get their bearings.

The soldiers converged on him, and he knew it wouldn’t take much for him to get overwhelmed. He pointed a revolver at the ground and shot. Where the bullet had thudded into the grass, the ground cracked open. A crevice snaked around him in a circle, and the ground split. Jordon was left standing on a circular piece of land in the middle of a large fissure. Orange light seeped up form the circular crevice, and he glanced down to see lava bubbling far below him. Soldiers stumbled and fell off the edge, shrieking through rotting throats as they were swallowed up by the lava.

Jordon smirked. Viral hovered in the sky, staring at Jordon with wide eyes. He cocked his head in confusion.

“I’ll be fine!” he shouted. He pulled back the hammers of his guns and shot a soldier in the head before it could fire an arrow at him. “Don’t worry about me!”

Viral whined with concern, but he must have seen the confidence that so rarely displayed itself in Jordon’s eyes, because he almost seemed to smile.

Danny held tight to Lion as she hopped across roofs. His heart pounded with fear as he thought back to the last encounter they had with these undead soldiers, but he pushed it down and nocked his crossbow.

Deep down, he was silently cursing at himself for agreeing to save the humans of Sunset Island, but he also knew it was the right thing to do. No matter how tempting the thought of a peaceful world for dragons was, the mass murder of millions of humans was not the answer.

Danny shot at the soldiers chasing him. What was he supposed to do once they lured the soldiers out of the town? There was no way he’d be able to take on that many enemies at once! If only he’d managed to figure out what kind of power he was supposed to have gotten from the Restless Spire!

He considered what the others had said earlier about the possibility of fire powers, but he suppressed that thought way, _way_ down. That wasn’t possible. He couldn’t have fire powers.

He caught a glimpse of a crowd of soldiers circling something on the street. A woman and a man stood in the crowd, fighting the army of the undead with weapons they must have taken from fallen soldiers. Both were breathing heavily and riddled with wounds.

Danny nudged Lion with his foot and nodded towards the two. Lion grunted and changed direction mid-jump.

Danny readied his crossbow. Lion swooped down over the street, and Danny jumped off her back. He landed among the soldiers, wincing as he landed on his injured leg. Soldiers turned to face him, and before they could do anything, he shot a dozen of them and they crumpled to the ground.

He glanced around for the two people and spotted them near the edge of the street. The soldiers had cornered them against a house, and blood gushed from a wound in the woman’s arm. She had dropped her sword, leaving the man as the only one with a weapon. He grimaced as he fended off a soldier with a dagger.

Danny rushed towards them. Instinctively, he switched his crossbow to one hand and swiped his hand in the direction of the crowd of soldiers with the other.

Flames bloomed from his hand and shot towards the undead. Their rotting flesh caught, and the man and woman skittered back in terror as the soldiers flailed about with fire eating at their skin. Their mouths fell open in silent screams, desperately trying to voice their agony with their old, torn vocal chords.

Danny stepped back in shock. One of the soldiers staggered towards him, its burning skin curling over the edges of its empty black eyes. Its leg collapsed beneath it, and it fell to the ground in front of him.

Danny stared at the body of the undead soldier. He’d set someone on fire.

A sense of panic swelled in his chest as his brain pushed forward the first memory it could think of. Burning people, burning buildings, screams of people dying, bodies collapsing to the ground enveloped in fire, death, so much death... He took a deep breath. No, not here. Not now!

A golden shape landed in front of him. He jumped, his heartbeat like thunder in his ears. It took him a moment to process that it was Lion. She whimpered at him and took a tentative step forward, but her eyes widened and she stopped. She bared her teeth in a snarl and leaped over Danny’s head. He heard the sounds of scuffling behind him and whirled around. Lion was in the process of biting out the throat of an undead soldier. He swallowed nervously, and in the back of his head, he knew she was protecting him, but part of him thought he didn’t know her, that this random dragon had shown up right now while his town was burning, and maybe it was going to try killing him next.

Lion snapped at another soldier that approached. She snarled, and the soldiers backed away. She stepped in front of Danny and screeched. Danny felt like he should do something, but people and houses were burning, and when he looked down he saw that his hands were burning, which sent his panic through the roof. 

Something grabbed Danny and pulled him backwards. He stumbled back, and a moment later, he was in an alleyway. A familiar face entered his vision, and he realized that it was Jorel.

“I saw you guys go down, but I didn’t see you come back up,” he said, his hands on Danny’s shoulders. “I got worried. Are you okay?”

Danny blinked, chest still heaving. Why was Jorel here? The town was burning. They had to leave!

Jorel furrowed his brow. “Okay,” he whispered. “Guess not.” He took his hands off Danny’s shoulders and instead gripped one of Danny’s hands with both of his. He gently squeezed Danny’s hand and then loosened his grip. “Squeeze my hand,” he said quietly.

Danny hesitated, but he tightened his grip for a brief moment. Jorel squeezed Danny’s hand again, and Danny did the same back. He stared down at their joined hands as Jorel squeezed again. Danny squeezed back, and the panic slowly began to disappear as he focused on the feeling of Jorel’s hands clutching his own. It helped ground him to where he was, and more importantly, when it was.

He took a deep breath and squeezed Jorel’s hand again. Nothing was on fire, except for the few soldiers that he had sent up in flames. He was in a town on Sunset Island, one that hadn’t burned and wasn’t going to burn. Nothing was going to burn... He gulped. Nothing was going to burn unless he wanted it to.

In fact, that seemed to be exactly the case. Flames curled off his fingers, but Jorel still grasped his hand, completely unharmed.

Danny looked up at Jorel’s face. “Thanks,” he said quietly.

Jorel gave him a reassuring smile. “No prob, man. You okay now? We can get you out of here if you can’t—”

“No,” Danny interrupted. He tugged his hand out of Jorel’s grip. He started toward the street as a sense of determination gripped his chest. “I’ll be fine.”

George was surprised at how well he and Monarch were doing on their own.

Power surged through his veins, the same way it did when he and Monarch were sent into a panic, but it was much stronger this time. Every sense was on high alert. His gaze snapped about, staring at everything in sight and processing every possible way it could be a threat. His ears twitched at every sound. Adrenaline pumped through his body, causing his vision to tunnel. He felt like he could take on an entire army by himself and win. However, it wasn’t out of control the way it usually was, which was odd to him. He actually had a hold on his abilities.

Monarch must have felt it too. He glanced frantically at the ground, at birds in the sky, at leaves fluttering through the air. A quiet growl rumbled in his throat as they flew after the dragon rider and his white dragon.

 _This is strange_ , Monarch muttered, snapping at a passing bird. _You’re much stronger now. I think it’s affecting me._

George nodded. “I think so,” he agreed. He flicked the reins and Monarch picked up speed.

The dragon rider appeared in the midst of the quills on his dragon’s back. “Give it up, Ragan! You can’t win!”

George narrowed his eyes. “Bet,” he grumbled.

The white dragon twisted around and screeched. His throat glowed white, and an icicle burst from his maw and hurtled towards Monarch. Instead of directing Monarch out of the way, George swiped his hand in its direction. A burst of ice shot from his hand and sliced the icicle in half. Both halves veered off course and plummeted to the ground.

George glanced at his hand, which was still covered in a layer of frost. “Dylan wasn’t lying when he called me Elsa,” he whispered.

He kept his eye on the rider and his dragon. They broke through the clouds, and Monarch soared after it.

The white dragon hovered in the air. Monarch bared his teeth in a snarl as he leveled out across from him. The white dragon growled in response, its eyes glowing like tiny stars.

George tightened his grip on his reins. “We don’t have to end it like this!” he shouted across the sky. “We can land and talk this out!”

“Too late for that!” The rider flicked the reins, and the white dragon lunged forward.

Jordon fired his revolvers in rapid succession, taking down soldier after soldier. He remained mostly safe on the platform in the middle of the crevice he’d created, but an arrow had embedded itself in his leg. Pain shot through his limb with every move, but he grit his teeth and ignored it as best he could. Bodies of soldiers littered the ground around the fissure he’d created, and many spilled into the lava below. Random crevices cracked through the ground, swallowing up soldiers at random. Viral swooped down over the undead army, blowing fire and snapping soldiers up into his mouth. Jordon didn’t imagine that zombie soldiers tasted any good, but he wasn’t going to judge Viral’s tastes.

He glanced back at the town, and his eyes widened. A bright orange glow radiated from the streets as flames blazed across the undead soldiers. They stumbled out of the town and into the field, faces frozen in silent agony as their thin flesh disintegrated from the heat.

Fear and concern clenched Jordon’s heart. Was Danny still in there? Was he okay? What about Jorel and Dylan?

Something darted out of the flames and landed on top of a house. Lion stood on the roof, Danny on her back. His eyes blazed brighter than the fire in the streets as he nocked his crossbow and fired at the burning soldiers. Flames licked up his body, but it didn’t seem to be harming him or Lion. Dove soared into the air with Jorel and Tiger on her back, and both of them appeared perfectly fine as well, much to Jordon’s relief.

“Looks like Zuko over there got a hold of his powers.”

Jordon shrieked in alarm and whirled around. Dylan and Grenade stood behind him on the circle of land he’d created. Dylan’s body phased in and out of existence, dissolving into shadows one second and reappearing the next. It was difficult to follow exactly where he was when he moved, but it was harder to see him when he stood still.

“Where did you come from?” Jordon squeaked.

Dylan shrugged. “Went through the town, got some shit done, may or may not have picked some pockets on the way.”

A deafening roar echoed through the air far above them. Monarch and the rider’s white dragon broke the clouds, locked in battle. Monarch roared and snapped furiously as the white dragon scratched with its sharp hind claws. It screeched in defiance, its quills flaring up to protect its back from Monarch’s teeth. Blood dripped from multiple gashes in Monarch’s hide. Jordon spotted George on Monarch’s back, struggling to stay on. He swiped a hand towards the white dragon and a blast of ice struck the dragon in the face.

Danny and Jorel swooped down towards Jordon and Dylan. “I think we have a small problem!” Jorel shouted as Dove landed. He pointed into the distance.

Jordon and Dylan followed his gaze. Through the soldiers, they spotted an army of more soldiers on horseback thundering towards them. Their armor shone in the light of the moon.

Dylan spun his daggers on their chains. “Fuckin’ hell.” His body melted into shadows. Grenade took off into the air as a cloud of darkness that Jordon assumed was Dylan zipped across the land after him.

Jordon furrowed his brow. “I’m not sure if we’ll be able to take on that many.”

Jorel gripped his spear. A line of red cut across his face before melting away again. “We’ve got to try.”

Jordon cocked his guns. They’d been holding up okay so far, but he couldn’t but think there might be a limit to these powers they’d gained. What if they ran out of strength soon? He could already feel the arrow wound in his leg sapping his energy. He got the feeling that after all the fighting they’d done over the past week, they were starting to reach their limit despite the new strength they just gained.

Jorel sighed. “Let’s go.”

Dove darted forward. He grit his teeth and braced himself for a fight he may not be able to win. Dealing with that many soldiers on the ground was bad enough, but that many on horseback with more weapons was worse.

Dove’s feet thudded on the ground and she ran towards the army at full speed. She screeched in anger as she sprinted towards the soldiers with her teeth bared.

One soldier in particular seemed to take an interest in Jorel. It spurred its horse faster, sword leveled at Jorel’s chest. His eyes widened and he nudged Dove, but even if they moved now, it would be too late. He raised his spear, hoping he could somehow deflect the blow.

Something zipped past Jorel’s field of vision. The soldier’s head rolled off its shoulders, and it crumpled as its horse veered off course, dropping the body of its rider behind it.

Jorel blinked and Dove slowed to a stop. He and Tiger glanced around in confusion, searching for whatever had saved them.

“Need help?”

Jorel turned around. A dragon with shining crystalline scales trotted up to him. Its transparent blue wings cast a blue glow on the ground as they reflected the light of the moon. The pink gemstones that decorated its hide shone as bright as its pink eyes. The man on the dragon’s back held two matching swords in his hands. The cloak on his back seemed to be carved from crystal, but it shifted like fabric. He reached up and lowered his hood.

“You gotta be more careful, man,” Aron said. His chest heaved and a few cuts riddled his face, as if he had fought his way through the army of undead to reach Jorel.

Jorel stared at him, astonished. Was Aron really here to help? What changed his mind?

A grin split across Jorel’s face. No words needed to be spoken. Jorel nudged Dove with his foot and she started running again. Nine and Aron followed close behind, Aron’s cloak fluttering in the wind behind him.

George was aware that a new player had just entered the game, but he didn’t have much time to acknowledge it. He and Monarch were too busy fighting for their lives. The dragon rider and his dragon must have harnessed the power of God’s Vision by now, because they were much stronger than they had been before.

The dragon snapped at Monarch’s throat and Monarch shrieked in pain. He rammed his head against the white dragon’s side, his horns piercing through the scales, but it didn’t seem to faze the dragon or its rider. The dragon twisted about and wriggled out of Monarch’s grasp. It raked its claws across Monarch’s face. George tugged the reins back, but Monarch couldn’t move fast enough and almost got a claw to the eye. He screeched, wings flapping furiously. George grit his teeth. There was no way they’d be able to hold out if they carried on like this.

He pulled Monarch’s reins, trying to get them away from the dragon rider for just a moment to collect their thoughts, but he paused when his head began to buzz. Aron had already dropped in, and the other guys were here, so...

He looked up. “No fucking way,” he whispered.

A white and orange shape zipped past the dragon rider. The white dragon screeched as the smaller dragon raked its claws across his face. The smaller dragon circled around and landed in the grass, chest puffed out proudly. Claire almost seemed to be smirking, as if she was gloating about a victory they hadn’t experienced yet.

Another shape appeared in the sky. The white dragon paused and followed George and Monarch’s gaze. George wanted to make a smug remark about the fact that they had backup, but he couldn’t tear his eyes away from the dragon that descended upon the land.

Saint landed in the field, Matt on her back. George was struck dumb at the sheer amount of power and strength the two of them radiated, and they didn’t even have any magical enhancements like George and Monarch. Saint’s and Matt’s eyes glowed purple, except Saint had a few too many eyes... on a few too many heads. The head on her shoulders snarled at the dragon rider with overgrown fangs. The head sprouting from her left shoulder kept low to the ground, eyes darting to look at everything around it, as if it was trying to see if any possible threats lied within the blades of grass. The head on her right was almost perfectly still, glaring at the white dragon and its rider with a fury that would have made Monarch surrender in a heartbeat. All six eyes glowed brighter than the sun. George found himself silently thanking whatever higher power there was that Saint hadn’t come here to attack George and the other heroes. No matter how many magical objects they got from Angeles, he was certain that there was nothing in the world that would make a person or dragon strong enough to take down the Imperial when she was mad.

Matt turned to George and his heart skipped a beat in fear. However, Matt only smiled. “Hey. Did I miss the party?”

George gave him a quick once over. A new cloak fluttered from Matt’s shoulders. It was difficult to see it in the dark, but one half of it was white and the other half looked like it was made of stone.

George shrugged. “You missed some. Long story short, this asshole decided to kill humans instead of dragons. He’s got a shit ton of undead soldiers. Think you can help with that?”

Two of Saint’s three heads turned to stare at the field of undead soldiers. Black trees sprouted from the ground seemingly at random in one area, piercing soldiers on their branches. Fire swathed through another spot of soldiers, and the flames spread quickly as a golden dragon flew overhead. Fissures opened up in the ground, swallowing up soldiers as they made their way towards the town at the edge of the field. A dark cloud of shadows glided between soldiers, and each one it touched crumpled to the ground. However, there seemed to be thousands of undead soldiers, and they were getting closer and closer to the town.

Matt gave a low whistle. “Damn, can’t believe you guys are doing this shit without me.” He tugged on Saint’s reins, which were only attached to the head in the middle, and all three heads turned towards the field. “You sure you can handle this dude?”

George nodded. Saint sprinted into the field of soldiers and Claire flew after her, squawking in excitement.

The rider cursed under his breath. “Why are you heroes so damn stubborn?”

George tightened his grip on the reins. He didn’t bother answering. He had to keep fighting.

A permanent grimace had fixed itself to Dylan’s face as he fought undead soldiers with all his strength. It felt strange to be moving when his body dissolved into shadows with every step, but it was much easier to avoid the various weapons being swung and thrown at him. He would deflect a soldier’s blade with one dagger, and a moment later, he would dissolve and appear across the field to drive his other blade through an undead horse’s chest.

A giant shape leaped over the sky above him and he looked up. Saint, oddly enough with three heads, soared over the field and crashed into the ground, sending a ton of soldiers flying through the air. Dylan was relieved that Saint had shown up. They sure could have used the backup.

A blade swung at his head and he ducked. He jabbed at the soldier on the other end of the sword, and it crumpled. His limbs burned with exhaustion when they weren’t shrouded in darkness. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could hold out.

A screech echoed through the air. Dylan glanced up for a brief moment to see Monarch and the white dragon locked in a battle again. Monarch’s hide was riddled with wounds, whereas the white dragon was relatively unharmed.

Dylan cursed under his breath. “Why the hell didn’t you let Saint kill him?” he shouted to George, even though there was no way he’d be able to hear Dylan from that distance. Dylan also knew that no matter how much easier it would have been to let Matt and Saint take on the dragon rider, George felt an obligation to finish the task himself, which is why he and Monarch wouldn’t quit until they either died or killed the rider.

Dylan sighed and parried a soldier’s blade just before it could slice through him. It looked like George was going to need some help.

He whistled. “Yo, Grenade! Imma get the other guys! Could you help Georgie?”

Grenade squawked from where he was flying overhead. He zipped in Monarch’s direction.

Dylan’s body melted into shadows, and he found himself standing next to Jordon, who was busy shooting at the various soldiers around him. He must not have seen Dylan, because he fired in his direction, sending a bullet right through Dylan’s shadowy arm. Luckily, his arm dissolved as the bullet passed through, so there was no harm done.

“Hey Jordon!”

Jordon shrieked and one of his bullets zipped into the sky. He whirled around to face Dylan. “Stop doing that!”

Dylan pointed in Monarch’s direction. “We gotta help George! You coming?”

Jordon took one look at the two fighting dragons and nodded. “Viral, we gotta go!”

As Viral swooped down to pick up his companion, Dylan faded into the shadows in search of Danny. It didn’t take long to locate him, because the heat in his part of the field was overwhelming. As soon as Dylan materialized, he almost dissolved away again, because it was so damn hot it almost burned to just stand there. He settled for being barely corporeal as he glanced around for Danny in the midst of the dozens of burning soldiers around him. Jesus, just how powerful was Danny with these new powers?

He caught sight of a figure in the flames. He quickly drifted towards it, ducking past a flaming horse and its rider on the way. Danny stood in the burning grass among the flames, crossbow on his back. A soldier on horseback galloped towards him, but Danny just flicked a hand in its direction without looking up. The horse burst into flames with a panicked whinny and veered to the side. Something about the blank look in Danny’s eyes sent a chill up Dylan’s spine.

“Hey Danny!” he shouted.

Danny didn’t respond. He just stood there, gaze on the horizon, as if he had shut down every part of his brain except for the part that kept him alive. He ducked past a soldier’s sword and touched their arm with a blazing hand. They went up in flames and collapsed. Danny didn’t seem to notice.

Dylan rushed up to Danny and stopped in front of him. “Hey man. You good? George is having some issues and we’re gonna go help him. Wanna come?”

Danny didn’t even seem to hear him.

Dylan stepped forward. “Buddy? It’s Dylan. You okay?”

Danny didn’t answer. He didn’t even look at Dylan.

Dylan was starting to get concerned. He’d never seen Danny like this.

Dylan gently took Danny’s shoulders. “Bro, I can get you out of here if this is too much for you. Do you need help?”

No response.

Dylan jumped in surprise as two dragons burst though the flames. Dove trotted across the burning grass, completely unharmed by the heat, and Nine followed close behind. Jorel sat on Dove’s back and Aron sat on Nine. Both were littered with wounds and breathing heavily.

Jorel took one look at Danny and furrowed his brow. “He okay?”

Dylan stared into Danny’s blank eyes. “I dunno. You think he’s dissociated or something?”

“Not sure,” Jorel muttered. “Jordon said we’re going to help George. Can you get him away from here and come back?”

Dylan nodded. “Go ahead. Aron, you stay and help Saint.”

“Sure thing.” Aron clapped Jorel on the shoulder. “Gonna be okay on your own, hero?”

Jorel grinned. “Always have been.”

They both took off in separate directions. Dylan turned back to Danny. Maybe Danny was just done. It had been a very difficult few days for him.

“Alright, let’s get you out of here,” he started, but Danny’s hand whipped out and snatched Dylan’s wrist. Danny swallowed, blinking furiously.

“I... I want to help,” he managed quietly. His gaze was still a thousand miles away, but his tight grip on Dylan’s arm let Dylan know that Danny was at least a little present.

“You sure?” Dylan asked.

Danny nodded slowly. Dylan looked to the sky, searching for Lion. “Hey Lion! We’re moving out!”

Lion descended through the flames and landed in the grass. Danny let go of Dylan and clung to Lion instead. She whimpered and licked his hair.

Dylan reached out and gave Danny’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “There’s no shame in bailing if you’re not up for it,” he said. He let go and stepped back, dissolving into shadows.

Jordon clung tight to one of Viral’s ridges as they soared through the air. Jordon had only fought the dragon rider hand-to-hand once, and he’d never fought on the back of a dragon before, so he was a little scared as to how this might go.

However, he pushed his apprehension aside. They could do this. They were heroes.

The white dragon reared back to bite Monarch in the neck, but Viral swooped down and blew a plume of fire into its open mouth. The dragon shrieked and hacked, stumbling backwards as Viral circled around and landed next to Monarch.

“You good, George?” Jordon asked.

George’s chest heaved, but he nodded. “Here to help?”

“You bet!” Jordon cocked his guns. “The others are gonna be here in a second! You stay here and catch your breath!” With that, Viral lunged towards the white dragon, snarling with his teeth bared.

George looked down at Monarch. “Hey, buddy. You holding up alright?”

 _I’m okay_ , Monarch responded, breathing heavily. _We can do this, right? We’re not going to die?_ For the first time, George heard a hint of fear in Monarch’s growling voice.

“We’ll be fine,” George reassured him. He glanced up as two dark shapes soared down towards the rider. “Besides, I think we’ve got more backup.”

Dove and Grenade shot towards the white dragon with simultaneous screeches of fury. They both raked their claws across the dragon’s scales and it squawked in alarm. Viral lunged forward and snapped at the dragon, but he just narrowly missed its throat.

“Hey, George!”

George shrieked in surprise and whirled around. Dylan stood behind him on Monarch’s back, daggers sheathed in his sleeves. His body melted into shadows, and George couldn’t see him unless he focused really hard.

“How the hell did you get here?” George asked.

Dylan shrugged. “Dunno. Anyway, I’m here to help. Danny’s kind of having a traumatic episode, so I don’t know if he’s coming.” He flicked his wrists, and his daggers shot into his hands. “Either way, I got your back.”

George’s shoulders relaxed, relieved to have almost the entire team behind him. “Thanks.” He turned back to the rider. “Now let’s finish this.”

Monarch sprinted forward to rejoin the fight. The white dragon screeched and flailed as Viral tackled it, and it just managed to throw Viral off before Monarch pounced on it. The dragon squawked as they tumbled across the field. Viral growled and scrambled to his feet, and Jordon, who had been tossed off Viral’s back, pushed himself off the ground with his guns in his hands. The dragon rider popped up in the grass and shook his head, disoriented.

Dylan wobbled on Monarch’s back as Monarch snarled and snapped at the white dragon. George had managed to hold on, but Dylan’s footing slipped. He found himself shrouded in shadows again, and then he was standing on the ground a safe distance from the fighting dragons. Dove and Grenade still darted around them, trying to scratch the white dragon while dodging flailing wings. Viral dashed around them, searching for an opening so he could aid Monarch in the fight. He blew a plume of fire at the white dragon’s tail and it screeched.

The rider saw Jordon in the field, still trying to get his bearings, and sprinted towards him with his dagger drawn. Jordon didn’t seem to notice.

Dylan dashed forward and parried the rider’s blade before he could stab Jordon. He stumbled back and glanced about, no doubt wondering where Dylan had come from. Dylan spun his daggers on his chains, ready for a fight.

The rider’s glowing eyes narrowed behind his goggles. “You don’t want to do this, Alvarez.”

“Try me,” Dylan snapped.

He lunged forward and swiped at the rider. He easily blocked the strike and jabbed at Dylan’s chest. He dissolved before the blade could hit him and went to stab the rider in the head. The rider ducked. He kicked at Dylan’s legs, but Dylan hopped over his foot.

Jordon shook his head, finally finding his ground. He glanced up to see the dragon rider caught in a battle with a vaguely humanoid shadow that he assumed was Dylan. Jordon wanted to help, but he didn’t want to shoot for fear that he might hit Dylan.

Jorel found it difficult to stay on Dove’s back with all of the quick flying she was doing. He caught sight of the rider fighting with Dylan on the ground and wanted to help, but hopping off Dove’s back when they were in the air was not an option. He just grit his teeth and kept jabbing his spear at the white dragon every chance he got.

George grimaced with the effort it took just to stay on Monarch. Holding onto the reins wasn’t enough to keep himself stable. He wobbled and scrambled to keep his footing. He spotted Jordon hopping on Viral’s back and shooting at the white dragon, but he didn’t have much time to process it.

The white dragon screeched in anger and bit down on Monarch’s neck. Monarch flailed, trying to throw the dragon off. George felt his grip slipping, and suddenly he was falling to the ground.

Pain shot through his body as he thudded to the grass. He groaned and sat up, head spinning. He looked up at Monarch and the white dragon as they roared and snapped at each other. The white dragon had no front claws to fight with, but its hind claws dug into Monarch’s hide and its teeth were bloody from the many bites he’d managed to land on Monarch.

A crackling sound met George’s ears and he looked down. Frost spread across the grass at his feet. He looked from the ground to the fighting dragons. He wasn’t sure how to help, but he wasn’t going to let anything kill his fucking dragon.

Dylan ducked as the rider’s blade swung past his head. He whipped one of his daggers towards the rider, but he blocked the blow and lunged for Dylan. Dylan grimaced as he parried the blade. They were at an impasse. Neither one had been able to get the upper hand yet, but Dylan’s limbs were growing weak. He didn’t think it would take long for the rider to overpower him.

The rider jabbed at Dylan’s chest. Dylan blocked it with one dagger and swung at the rider with the other, but the rider dodged it and kicked Dylan in the stomach. The air left his lungs in a sharp burst and he stumbled back. Dylan tripped in his disorientation and landed on his back on the ground. The rider clutched his dagger in both hands and stabbed downward. Dylan’s eyes flinched shut.

When no blade pierced his chest, he slowly opened his eyes again. The dragon rider stood above him, dagger still in his hands, but someone else had grabbed his arm. The rider struggled to pull away, and someone stepped into view behind him. Dylan grinned when he saw who it was.

Danny whirled the rider around and shoved him to the ground. The rider stumbled over his feet and landed in the grass, his dagger falling from his hands. He scrambled to stand, but walls of fire rose around him, blasting him with heat, and he crumpled back to the ground to avoid breathing in the smoke. Danny took his crossbow off his back and nocked it, aiming it right at the rider’s head.

“Don’t fucking move,” he snapped. His eyes flickered with fire. He was no longer zoned out, which was a relief to both him and Dylan. If Danny hadn’t shown up when he did, Dylan could have died.

Dylan appeared next to Danny, shadows wafting off his shoulders and gathering in the grass. Lion chirped and stood next to him. “Good to see you,” he said. “You okay?”

Danny nodded, his eyes fixed on the dragon rider. He had tried to ignore his past memories and just roll with his new powers, but he’d ended up surrounded by fire and his past wouldn’t leave him alone. He was lucky Lion had been able to pull him out of his own mind in time for him to help the others.

Danny glanced up at the two battling Great Dragons. He expected to see them still locked in a fight, but what he saw instead surprised him.

Dylan must have noticed it as well, because he gave a low whistle under his breath. “Shit.”

Monarch had skittered away and was staring at the white dragon in shock. Viral, Dove, and Grenade had all landed next to him, their eyes wide. The white dragon flailed and screeched, firing blasts of icy breath at something on the ground, but it didn’t seem to be doing any harm. Through the haze of ice and snow, Danny saw George standing in the field. He swiped his arm upward as the dragon blasted him again, and a sheet of ice appeared in front of him, absorbing the icy breath. He stepped forward and ice crackled across the ground, covering the dragon’s foot and freezing it to the ground. It screeched, trying to yank its foot out of the ground, but it didn’t budge. It roared in defiance and blew an icicle from its gullet. George swiped upwards, and a blast of ice sliced the icicle in half. Both halves veered away and crashed to the ground on either side of him. He made a motion like he was throwing something, and a chain made of ice whipped from his hand and latched around the dragon’s neck. It tried to pull away, but George yanked on the chain and the dragon’s head dipped down with the force. He swiped his free hand up again, and a giant icicle shot from the ground under the dragon’s chin. The pointed tip touched its scales and it whimpered. It stopped flailing and stayed still, its head lowered by the chain in George’s hand, its feet stuck to the ground.

Danny glanced back at the dragon rider. He stared through the flames at his dragon. He was still on the ground, but he’d sat up so he was on his knees. His shoulders were slumped in defeat. He slowly leaned down and put his head in his hands.

Danny turned his gaze to the rest of the field. The sheer amount of bodies of undead soldiers and horses in the field were overwhelming. Saint and her three heads snapped at the ground, busy cleaning up some of the last fighting soldiers that hadn’t even gotten close to the town with her protecting it. Nine darted through the sky, Aron and his goggles scouting for any more living soldiers.

Danny turned back to the rider and his dragon, both trapped. He blinked as reality set in.

They won.


	49. Shade

The people in the town had all taken shelter in their houses, but when the sounds of yelling soldiers ceased and the roaring of dragons faded out, they tentatively opened their doors and peaked outside. Those near the edge of the town saw fires raging in the field outside the border of the town, burning tons of bodies of soldiers among the grass. Parents held their children close as other adults left the houses to inspect the damage. So many bodies littered the streets, some on fire, others stuck in fissures in the ground that had only half closed.

Dragons soared through the air and descended towards the ground, and the townsfolk all tightened their grips on their various weapons. The people who had come with the dragons must have been just as dangerous as the dragons themselves. Why else would they have allied themselves with such horrible animals? Dragons were killers!

Although, the townspeople had to admit that if these dragons hadn’t shown up, those horrifying undead soldiers could have torn the town apart. But what of that armless white dragon? Had it been with the undead soldiers, or against them? It had attacked one of the dragons that was fighting the soldiers, but weren’t all dragons bad?

However, dragons were dangerous, and these people weren’t about to let any into their town.

Townsfolk gathered around the edge of the town near the field. A large lilac dragon with transparent yellow wings and three heads was busy tromping through the field among the thousands of bodies of undead soldiers. One head shot a glance at the people, but it ignored them for the most part, and so did the man on its back. Another dragon with shiny crystal hide and blue wings fluttered in the sky with another man on its back wielding two swords.

Thundering footsteps shook the ground. The townsfolk clustered together, weapons in hand, ready to defend their town from these terrible creatures.

Then four people came into view. There was a gap between the one at the head of the group and one of the people on the end, and it took the townsfolk a moment to notice that the cluster of shadows between them was another person. A group of dragons followed after them, one much larger than the rest. Its eyes glowed bright blue, and its overgrown horns and four wings made it look much bigger than it actually was. Next to it was the armless white dragon, tromping along with its head low. A chain made of ice trailed from its neck to the hand of the man at the head of the group.

The townspeople skittered backwards as the group stopped at the edge of the field. The three-headed dragon joined the group alongside a smaller white and orange dragon, and the crystalline dragon swooped down to land in the midst of dragons.

The man with the icy chain studied the crowd of townspeople with cold eyes. Ice crackled across the ground from his feet. He was silent for a few moments, and before he could speak, one of the townspeople raised their crossbow and leveled it at his chest.

“Get out of here!” they shouted, their voice shaking a little with fear. “You’re not welcome!”

He opened his mouth to protest, but he was interrupted by a chorus of yelling.

“Get your dragons out of here!”

“Your zombie army tried to kill us!”

“You’re a danger to the world!”

“SHUT UP!”

Everyone jumped, including the four dragon companions. The cluster of shadows stepped forward, briefly morphing into the full body of a man before dissolving again. Two thin black chains trailed from his hand to something behind him. He tugged on them, and another man appeared, his face obscured by a cloth and a pair of goggles. His hands were tangled together by the two chains, and two daggers hung just below them.

The shadow man grabbed the back of the masked man’s coat. “You want someone to blame?” He shoved the man forward. He tripped and fell to his knees before the crowd of people.

The shadow man crossed his arms. “There he is.”

* * *

The heroes were lucky the townspeople had allowed them into town so they could explain. Their dragons were forced to stay outside in the field, which made the seven of them hesitant to go in, but they were pretty sure that was the best they were going to get, so they simply did as the townsfolk requested.

They stood in the town square, the dragon rider kneeling at their feet with his head lowered as if about to be executed. A great deal of townspeople gathered around them, scared out of their minds, but also intrigued as to where this was going to go. Many still carried weapons, but all were too afraid to attack. They wouldn’t dare hurt these people as long as their humongous dragons were looming over the edge of the town, gazes fixed on their companions with narrowed glowing eyes.

The seven heroes all glared down at the dragon rider who had caused them so much grief. George quickly explained their story to the townspeople, how they were all heroes who had to protect Angeles, how the dragon rider had shown up in the Guardian’s Keep with the intent of killing all dragons in the realm, and how his intentions had changed. He kept the explanation brief and didn’t give many details, especially not the bits about what each of them had gone through in order to get to this point. Those were all personal stories, and if they wanted to tell the people themselves, they could do it later.

The sun peeked over the horizon as George quickly wrapped up their story. No one else had spoken while he talked, probably because he was still coated in ice and no one wanted to risk getting frozen if they interrupted him.

“So we came here to save you,” George said. “You’re welcome, by the way.”

“We totally could have ditched you,” Danny pointed out to the townspeople as skeptical looks passed over their faces. “We’ve all been hurt by people in our own ways, so just be glad we didn’t let this fucker kill you.”

The people were all silent. “Your story makes no sense,” one of them said finally.

“It doesn’t have to make sense,” George said. “It’s the truth.”

A few people whispered amongst themselves. “But you’re with dragons,” one pointed out. “Why didn’t you kill us? Why aren’t _they_ killing us?” They swept their arm in the direction of the dragons at the edge of the town.

“Because dragons aren’t what you think they are,” Jordon said. “Take it from an ex-executioner, they’re no more dangerous than dogs. They’re some of the smartest, friendliest animals in Angeles.”

“Smart is a strong word,” Dylan muttered. “Grenade’s an idiot.”

“Just like his companion,” Jorel said with a grin. Dylan elbowed him, but his shadowy arm passed right through.

“Dragons are much nicer than you think,” Danny added, ignoring Jorel and Dylan’s playful banter. “I’m a dragon tamer, and even the wildest dragons only attack in self-defence.”

“Just like most humans,” Matt said.

The townspeople all glanced at each other, muttering. “What about him?” one spoke up, pointing at the dragon rider.

“He and his dragon are just a special case,” Danny said. “Dragons are actually a lot like humans. Some are good, some are bad, but none are inherently one or the other.” He nudged the rider’s back with his foot, and the rider flinched. “We just don’t quite know what this guy’s deal is.”

“We don’t even know who he is,” George added.

Jorel and Aron exchanged a glance. “We might,” Aron muttered.

Everyone turned to him. “Legit?” Matt asked.

Jorel nodded slowly. “Maybe. His voice is definitely familiar.”

“I knew I recognized it from somewhere, but I haven’t heard it in years,” Aron said. “I could be totally wrong.”

“Tell us!” Dylan exclaimed eagerly.

Jorel narrowed his eyes at the rider. “Unmask him.”

Jordon stepped forward. He reached out and tugged the rider’s goggles off his face, then grabbed the cloth and pulled it down. He stepped back to let Jorel and Aron get a good look at the rider’s face.

The rider’s black hair fell over his forehead, hiding one of his blue eyes. The rest of his face was visible, however, and while most of them didn’t recognize him at all, Aron nodded like his suspicions had been confirmed.

“Jeffrey Phillips,” he muttered. He shook his head with a sigh. “Fucking figures.”

“You do know him?” George asked.

“He grew up on the streets with us,” Jorel said. “Well, actually, he mostly took care of us because he was older, but he left after he and Aron had a spat.”

“‘Spat’ is an understatement,” the dragon rider growled. “He pulled a fucking gun on me.”

“Because you were being a dick!” Aron argued.

“You’re more of a dick!” Jeffrey shouted. “You and your fucking huge-ass ego!” He struggled against the chains still binding his wrists, but Dylan tugged on them and he fell still.

“I don’t have a big ego!” Aron protested.

“Yeah you do,” Jorel muttered. Aron shot him a glare.

Matt sighed. “Girls, you’re both pretty. Shut up for two seconds.” He turned to Jeffrey. “So, what the hell happened to you?” He spread his arms, gesturing to the dozens of bodies of undead soldiers in the streets. “Why turn to this?”

Jeffrey swallowed nervously, looking at each of the heroes in turn. “Well, I left because Aron is an asshole.”

“Was,” Aron grumbled. “ _Was_ an asshole.”

Jeffrey ignored him and continued. “I left the town, figured these two idiots could handle being on their own.” He nodded towards Jorel and Aron. “I ended up in another town. Started looking for a job, there was an opening for an executioner, so I took it. Got caught up in the whole ‘killing dragons’ frenzy.” He glanced at Jordon. “I can see why you’re so anguished about it. It’s not a pretty job.”

Jordon shrugged, his eyes on the ground. George placed a hand on his shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.

“I was also a hunter,” Jeffrey continued. His face twisted into a scowl, as if he was thinking of a particularly horrible memory that left a bad taste in his mouth. “Just a little over a month ago, I was out hunting with a group. We were tracking a flock of dragons, and when we found them, they fought back. I was the only one who lived.” He cast his gaze to the ground. “I was so fucking devastated, I decided that killing every dragon in the world was a good idea.” He shot a glance towards the edge of the town, where Monarch had taken the icy leash George made to keep the rider’s dragon in place. “And... well, that changed, obviously.”

George followed his gaze. “You know that what you two were doing with the power you gained wasn’t right, right? You abused that power. You gave almost all of it to your dragon. It can’t handle that. No one can.”

“He wanted it,” Jeffrey said. “He wanted power, and I provided. It was just a bonus that I got a little bit of it, too.”

Danny reached into his bag and took out the piece of wood from the Restless Spire as flames danced in his eyes. “We can pick a new Great Dragon,” he said. “We have that ability, with all five of us. It doesn’t have to be this guy and his fucked up porcupine dragon.”

George furrowed his brow, staring at the dragon rider with icy eyes. “What do we even do with him?” he muttered.

“Arrest him?” a townsperson suggested.

“Kill him,” another one stated firmly.

“Banish him!” someone else spoke up.

“I don’t know,” George mumbled. He looked at Jorel and Aron. “What do you think?”

They both hesitated. Jorel scratched the back of his neck. He shot a glance at the dragons at the edge of town. “As awful as they are... I don’t think we should kill them.”

Aron sighed. “Agreed. That thing is already a Great Dragon, so there’s no use picking a new one.”

“‘That thing’ has a fucking name,” Jeffrey snapped. “His name is Shade, you inconsiderate prick.”

Aron rolled his eyes, but Jorel nudged him with his elbow before Aron could say something back. “I think arresting them would be best,” Jorel said.

“Were not taking that dragon,” one of the townsfolk blurted. “We don’t want it in town.”

George nodded. “Don’t worry, we’ll take care of him.”

“Don’t kill him!” Jeffrey blurted, a hint of fear in his eyes. He strained against Dylan’s chains. “Please, don’t. I... I need him. He needs me. You can’t split us up.”

“We won’t kill him,” Danny assured him. He looked at the crowd of townspeople. “Is there a jailhouse near the edge of town?”

A noblewoman stepped forward, her blonde hair swept over her shoulder. “There is,” she said, her voice chilly. “But, are you really going to keep the dragon... _near_ here?”

“It could kill us!” another person shouted in a panic.

“It won’t,” George said. “The Guardian and I will make sure of that.” He paused. “I mean, if that’s okay. Would you allow us to stay here for a while so we can keep an eye on these two? Or should we take them somewhere else?”

The crowd muttered among themselves. The seven heroes waited for a response with bated breath. They knew these people didn’t like dragons, so of course they wouldn’t want seven companions and their dragons running around the town. Especially not when five out of the seven of them had magic powers they could hardly control.

“You may stay,” the blonde noblewoman said, her voice still icy cold. “I must admit, we are a little curious to hear your viewpoint on dragons, and... well, it may be educational to hear about your experiences. However,” she said, a hard edge to her voice, “if _anything_ at all happens to the people here at the fault of you or your dragons, we will not hesitate to have all of your heads lopped off. Do I make myself clear?”

Dylan gave a low whistle and leaned closer to Danny. “Man, she’s got more mom vibes than you.”

Danny ignored him. “We understand, ma’am.”

George nudged Jeffrey with his foot. “Can someone take him to the jailhouse? We’ve got a bit of a mess to clean up.” He gestured to the bodies of undead soldiers around them.

The noblewoman nodded. “Of course.” She turned to someone beside her. “Go. Check up on that dragon, too. I want to make sure it’s secure.”

The townspeople dispersed. Many of them gave the heroes skeptical looks before they left.

The noblewoman walked up to the heroes and stopped in front of Aron. “I would like to speak with you,” she said curtly. She walked off, lifting her skirts as she stepped over a stray body.

Aron exchanged a fearful glance with Jorel. Jorel clapped him on the shoulder. “Good luck.”

Aron followed the noblewoman to the edge of the town square. He’d sheathed his swords on his back, and he reached back and tapped on the pommel of one of them nervously as he walked.

Matt heaved a sigh as a small group of people grabbed Jeffrey Phillips off the ground and dragged him out of the town square. Dylan whipped his chains back to his hands, trusting that the dragon rider knew he was defeated and wouldn’t try to break away as long as his dragon was still captured.

“I think I’ll go with them,” Matt said, his eyes still slightly glowing. “Might as well make sure no one freaks out when they see Saint. She’s still a little adrenaline charged, so she’s still got all those god damn heads.” He turned and followed after the group.

The five remaining heroes stared at the bodies around the square. “Well, time to clean this up,” Jordon said, cracking his knuckles. He swiped a hand across the square, and a fissure snaked through the ground, swallowing up a dozen soldiers at once. He closed up the fissure and made a new one next to it, walking down the street so he could clean up as he went.

Danny turned and started down the opposite street. “I’ll start over here.” He touched a pile of bodies as he passed and they burst into flames.

“Uh, Jorel?” Aron’s voice shouted. They turned to face him and saw that the noblewoman was glaring at him, her arms crossed. “Do you remember maybe stealing a very specific jewellery box from this, uh, lovely lady?” The woman narrowed her eyes further and Aron stepped back. “A very lovely lady who has the power to have my head and or hands chopped off for stealing?”

Jorel grimaced. “Uh, maybe?” He shot an apologetic glance towards George and Dylan. “Sorry, I think I have to go deal with this.” He ran off towards Aron and the noblewoman.

As Jorel tried to calm down the noblewoman, Dylan turned to George. “You wanna talk?”

“What is there to talk about?” George asked, feigning ignorance.

“I think you know.” Dylan glanced at George out of the corner of his eye. “You get the dreams too, right? You see things we shouldn’t know about.”

George stood silent, debating on whether or not to answer. “You thought Jorel had tattoos when we were in the Tragedy Isles,” he said finally. “You know random words and things that no one else does. You still speak Spanish, even though that language doesn’t exist yet. You called me Elsa, for fuck’s sake.” He looked Dylan dead in the eye. “Just how much do you know?”

Dylan shrugged. “A fair amount. I know what Google is.”

“And that doesn’t exist here,” George said. “We shouldn’t know these things. You shouldn’t be tossing out those references so casually. No one knows what you’re talking about. I don’t know why you kept talking about these things. Were you just trying to see if any of us would catch on?”

“Pretty much,” Dylan admitted. “I don’t want to be the only one with those kinds of dreams. You know how much of a relief it is that you know the same things? It took you a long ass time to actually respond in a way that would let me know, and of course you did it while we were fighting.”

George nodded. He’d recognized the language Dylan had been yelling in as Spanish and pointed it out. Maybe a mistake on his part, but if it brought Dylan some form of relief, maybe it would be fine.

“Does the fact that we know this worry you at all?” George asked. “Do you think it’s gonna fuck us up in the future? Like, not this future, but... y’know.”

“Not sure,” Dylan muttered. His body phased into shadows before he rematerialized on the street. “Guess we’ll have to wait.”

George sighed. “Guess so.” He shot a glance towards Aron, who was currently being held almost off the ground by his collar as the noblewoman shouted at him. “I get a weird vibe from Aron. Like... I don’t know, like there’s more to him than meets the eye. You know what I mean?”

“Yeah,” Dylan muttered. He looked down at the ground where Aron had been standing. The stone path was riddled with small pointy rocks that he was sure hadn’t been there before. They poked up out of the ground around where Aron’s feet had been. “I wonder what his deal is.” Dylan whispered. He nudged the rocks with his foot. They didn’t budge.

George nodded. He didn’t take his eyes off Aron. “Me too.” He started towards a street, tearing his gaze away. “Come on. Let’s help clean up.”

* * *

The people of the Underground picked the worst time to show up.

George and Dylan had been cleaning up bodies with Jordon near the northern edge of the town when a thundering sound rumbled through the air. The ground shook, and of course their first thought was that more undead soldiers on horseback were making their way towards the town. All three of them drew their weapons and waited, ready to fight.

However, they paused when a huge army of dragons appeared on the horizon. The three of them exchanged a confused glance, wondering who these dragons were and why they were there. Townsfolk gathered around them with their weapons, yelling at each other in a panic.

“What are these dragons doing here?” someone demanded, glaring at George. “Where did they come from? Did you bring them?”

“No, we had no idea they were coming,” George said.

“I did.”

They glanced back to see Matt within the crowd. “Claire and I made a quick trip to the Underground and asked them if they could be our backup in case we needed it,” he explained. “I didn’t know how long the fight with the rider would take or if we would lose, so I asked if they’d like to help. I guess we should tell them there’s no fight going on.”

George sighed. “Yeah.” He started towards the giant herd of dragons. “Come on.”

“I’m gonna let Danny know his girlfriend’s probably here,” Dylan said. “Be right back.” He dissolved into shadows.

Matt followed George and Jordon out of town. “Sorry, I just didn’t know if we would all we okay on our own. I didn’t think they’d show up late.”

“It’s okay,” Jordon assured him. “We’ll deal with it.”

A cloud of shadows appeared next to Jordon. Dylan materialized out of nowhere, and along with him, Danny, Aron, and Jorel. The three of them stumbled as they appeared, and Jorel braced his hands on his knees as if he was nauseous.

Dylan furrowed his brow. “What, you don’t like shadow teleporting?”

Danny leaned against Jordon, a hand over his mouth. “I think I’m gonna throw up,” he muttered.

“Well, we’re gonna go talk to your girlfriend, so you better not throw up on her,” Jordon said.

“George!” shouted a familiar voice.

George tore his eyes away from Danny and turned back to the approaching dragons. Asia sat on the back of her thick spiky dragon, and the rest of the dragons slowed to a stop behind her as she trotted up to George. A sword rested at her belt, and a shield was slung across her back. She glanced about in mild confusion.

“The Imperial’s rider told us you might need help,” she said. “The dragon rider you’re chasing called his dragons off for some reason, and when Matthew Busek told us you might need help, we rushed over as soon as we could.”

George shrugged. “You missed it.”

Asia’s shoulders slumped. “Really?”

“That sucks,” said a voice behind her. Jordon’s heart skipped a beat when he saw it was Randi, the girl who had flirted with him back in the Underground. He tried to keep himself from blushing, but a crack opened in a rocky patch on his shoulder and smoke drifted toward the ground.

Jorel grinned and elbowed Jordon. “Aww, someone’s got a crush.”

Dylan smirked. “Look at Danny, though,” he whispered.

Danny stood almost completely rigid, his shoulders tensed up to his ears. His face was beet red, and fire blazed in the grass around his feet.

Theresa and her small dragon, Louie, hopped off the back of Vanessa’s black and pink dragon with a smile. “I was sort of hoping we’d get to beat up that dragon rider, but it’s good to see everything worked out.” She looked at Danny and the fire around his feet. “Well, aren’t you looking _hot_ today, Murillo?”

The others didn’t think Danny’s face could get any more red, and yet it did. “Uh, thank— thank you. You... you too— I mean, I, uh... that was a— a good joke, a nice... pun. I— um, I’m... I’m so sorry, I’m just... tired, y’know. From— from fighting. There was this big fight, and I, uh, I was... fighting, and...” He gulped. He turned to Dylan, mild panic in his eyes. “Can you shadow me away?” he whispered, his voice an octave higher than usual.

Jordon slung an arm around Danny’s shoulders. “It’s okay man, we got you.”

Theresa’s cheeks flushed pink. “You are too adorable, Daniel.”

Aron cupped his hands around his mouth. “Hey! Can you two kiss already?”

Fire smoked on Danny’s shoulders. “Fuck off, Aron,” he grumbled, his gaze fixed on the ground.

Theresa chuckled. “Aww, it’s okay,” she said dismissively. “You can get a kiss later.” She winked at Danny, and the others thought he might pass out from how flustered he was.

Asia craned her neck to look at the town. George heard footsteps on the grass, and he followed her gaze to see that a crowd of townsfolk had followed them out of town towards the herd of dragons. They all clutched their weapons tightly and stared up at the dragons and their companions with fearful eyes.

“Well, what do we do now?” Asia asked.

George shrugged and spread his arms. “Welcome to Sunset.”

* * *

Jorel, Jordon, Dylan, Danny, and George all stood in the jailhouse outside one particular cell. Jeffrey Phillips, the man who had hurt them so many times, sat inside on the metal bench, his head lowered. The townsfolk had left his hands uncuffed and untied, but he couldn’t get out if he wanted to.

He glared up at the five of them with cold eyes. “What do you want?” he growled. “There’s nothing more to tell you.”

“We’re not here to question you about your past,” Jordon said.

“We’re here to talk about your future,” Jorel added.

“What future?” Jeffrey snapped. “I’m gonna be stuck in this fucking cell for the rest of my days, probably. Someone’s gonna get sick of me and take me to a guillotine eventually. As far as I’m concerned, I don’t have a future.”

“You could,” Danny said. He swiped at a lipstick print on his cheek that had been left behind by Theresa just a little earlier. He almost seemed to shut down completely when she kissed him, but now he was back to functioning like a normal person.

“How the hell could I have a future here?” Jeffrey demanded. “Or anywhere? I’ve attacked every god damn place in this realm. I killed the Jailer. I hurt people. You think anyone is going to want me or Shade around?”

“He’s a Great Dragon,” Dylan said. “And we’re not killing another one of those. So that means the two of you are gonna have to get your shit together and do your new job that you chose to do.”

Jeffrey blinked. “Are you fucking kidding me? Just choose a new dragon. It’s not hard.”

“About that...” George began. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the icy bullet from God’s Vision as the others brought out their own objects. “We’re giving these up,” George said. “And since the only thing you have that we don’t is that crossbow bolt from God’s Vision, we suggest you give up that one, too.”

“You’re giving up that power?” Jeffrey scoffed. “What the hell is wrong with you? The Restless Spire is ruined, so if you get rid of that—” he nodded to the piece of wood in Danny’s hand— “then no one can choose a new Great Dragon _ever_. If Monarch or Saint or Shade dies, we can’t just get a new one. The entire balance of the world with be thrown off. Angeles will be fucked without three Great Dragons.”

“Then Shade better not get into any danger,” Jorel said simply. “We don’t need the power anymore, so we’re getting rid of it.”

“Shade isn’t even a full Great Dragon!” Jeffrey argued. “I didn’t get the thing from the Restless Spire— thanks, _Murillo—_ so I couldn’t finish the process.”

“Wrong,” Jordon said. “We knew you couldn’t finish it, so we went and visited Shade. Gave him a small dose of the power so he’d finish the transition. Your boy’s a Great Dragon now. He told Danny his new title.”

“He calls himself the Emperor,” Danny said. “And you’re his rider. You’re going to have to find a Keep soon, but we’re going to escort you so you don’t do anything stupid.”

Jeffrey’s eyes widened. “You... you let him be the third Great Dragon? Are you serious?”

“Yeah,” Jorel sighed. “It might be stupid, but we sort of trust you enough to not go totally off the rails and try to kill everyone. If you really try, we think you can be a really good dragon rider.”

“Either way, we’re still giving up our powers,” Dylan said. “Even thought they’re fucking awesome. Seriously, I haven’t had to walk anywhere all night. I’ve just been teleporting. Why the hell are we getting rid of these again?”

“Because no one should have that much power,” George reminded him. He held up the bullet. “Even if you keep what you have left from God’s Vision, that’s all you’ll have. You won’t have the rest of it.”

Jeffrey swallowed, but he reached into his pocket and pulled out the icy crossbow bolt. He turned it over in his hands.

The five heroes all dropped their objects on the ground. After exchanging a determined glance with one another, they each raised a foot and crushed them.

Jorel gasped as a surge of power left his body all at once. One last red stripe cut across the back of his hand before it faded away. Even though he couldn’t see outside, he got the feeling all of the trees he’d raised were all wilting and crumbling away into dust. The cracks in Jordon’s rocky patches of skin closed all a once. He grimaced as a dull ache settled into his body where the rock morphed back into skin. Dylan’s entire body jolted as the shadows around him suddenly snapped back into his skin, solidifying his form for the first time in hours. His now solid stomach churned at the feeling of being fully corporeal, and he leaned against Danny to keep himself upright. The flames left Danny in a burst of heat, and he didn’t realize how hot he’d been running until the power left him and it felt like he was now standing in a snowstorm. He shivered at the lack of heat. The ice on George’s body thawed immediately, and he was hit with a wave of heat. He blinked, a little startled at the sudden change in temperature.

Dylan raised his foot off the remains of the crystal from the No-Way-Out Caves. It sat in a pile of shards on the floor. He raised a hand to his mouth as if he was trying to keep in bile. “That was worse than I thought it would be,” he muttered.

Danny nodded, clutching his cloak around his shoulders as the last of the flames flickered from his eyes. “No shit.” He huddled up to Dylan for warmth. “Why am I so cold?”

Jeffrey flinched as the power he’d gained from those same objects no doubt drained from his body. He put his head in his hands with a slight groan.

Jorel looked at George. “You good?”

George nodded as Dylan stumbled from Danny to him. “Yeah.” He glanced sideways at Dylan, putting an arm around him to keep him upright. “What about you, homie?”

“I wanna be a shadow again,” Dylan groaned. “Why do organs have to be so heavy?”

They heard a quiet crack. They turned back to the cell, where the dragon rider still sat with his head in his hands. He shifted his foot to reveal shards of ice beneath his boot. The crossbow bolt was nowhere to be seen.

He shook his head lightly. “I’m fucking stupid,” he whispered.

The five heroes exchanged a glance. Jordon turned to the dragon rider with a welcoming smile.

“Welcome to the team.”


	50. Legends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i apologize in advance for the cliche way i ended this, but i needed to do this to set up the sequel the way i want.

The others stared at George with wide eyes as he stopped talking. 

Danny gestured for him to continue. “So? What happened next?”

George shrugged and leaned back on the couch. “They saved the realm and lived happily ever after. The end.”

Jordon took his sunglasses off to give George an incredulous look. “Are you fuckin’ kidding me? It just ended like that?”

“My brain’s still working on the ending?” George offered as an excuse. “They’re dreams, man, I can’t control them. I’ll just wait until tonight.”

Jorel shook his head. “You can’t just tell us an epic-length story about ourselves for three hours that your dumbass brain made up while you were asleep and then end it with ‘we won’. Come on, what happened after?”

“Yeah,” Danny agreed. “What happened to the dragons? What happened to us? Did the people’s opinions of dragons improve? Did the executions stop?”

“Not gonna lie, I’m a little pissed your brain didn’t kill off Aron,” Jordon said. “He’s still a dick.”

“Dream’s still in progress, man,” George admitted. 

“So there’s no actual ending?” Danny whined. 

Jordon swatted George on the arm. “Man, you suck.”

Dylan blew a plume of smoke from his mouth. “Good story, though. Tell your brain it’s got some nice improv skills.” 

Danny’s phone made a sound in his pocket. He pulled it out and glanced at the screen. “Sorry guys, I gotta go. Reese wants me back home.” He stood up and nudged Jordon. “Come on.”

“Why do I have to go?” Jordon grumbled. 

“Because you’re my ride,” Danny reminded him. 

Jordon groaned, but he pushed himself off the couch and followed Danny to the door. “See you fuckers,” he called out. “You better have a proper ending to that dream tomorrow!”

Jorel heaved a sigh. “I should go, too. Van gets upset if I forget to feed Tiger.”

Dylan waved at him as he made his way toward the door. “Catch ya later, esé.”

George listened as the door swung shut. Now it was just him and Dylan. 

George tapped his foot on the floor. “So...”

Dylan took another hit from his blunt. “Well, that was fun.” He stood up and stretched. “Think your brain is actually gonna finish that dream sometime?”

George blinked at him, then shrugged. “Maybe.”

“Cool.” Dylan started toward the door. He paused, his blunt smoking in his fingers. He turned back to George. “Hey, man, about the ending of that dream?”

George leaned forward. “Yeah?”

Dylan bit his lip and stared at the wall as if he was deep in thought. He shook his head. “Sorry, never mind.” He turned back to the door. “See ya.”

The door slammed shut behind him. George gazed at the door, silently hoping it would swing open and one of the guys would walk in again. 

Nothing. 

He sighed and leaned back on the couch. He stared at the floor, tapping his foot, lost in his head. 

He glanced at the clock. It wasn’t even midnight yet. Asia was out with some friends, and she’d taken Chloe with her. Ava was at a sleepover with some of her own friends. George was free to do whatever he wanted until Asia returned. 

He took out his phone and fired off a text to Asia. _Going out. Be back in a few hours. Love you <3_

He stood up from the couch and ran to the stairs. He dashed onto the second floor, ducked into his room, and snatched a duffel bag off the floor. It felt as if there was a lead weight inside the bag, but he slung it over his shoulder with hardly any effort and ran back down the stairs. 

He locked the front door behind him and started walking down the street. He could just take the car, but it had been a while since he’d gone out for a walk on his own. He loved his family and his friends, but alone time was something he needed every now and then. He just hoped he wouldn’t get mugged or anything, but even if that happened, he was well prepared. 

It took quite a while to walk all the way through the city. Los Angeles was huge, and even at night, there were tons of people milling about the streets.

Finally, he arrived at one specific beach. There was almost no one there, just a couple walking across the sand, hand in hand. He waited for them to walk further down the beach. As soon as they were out of sight, he knelt to the ground and started digging into the sand. He kept digging until his fingernails scraped rock, and he shifted his hand so it lay flat on the stone. A faint blue light glowed from within the sand. 

The ground collapsed beneath him and he tumbled downward. His world turned upside-down before he landed in a soft pile of sand. The faint light of the moon was cut off when the ground closed above him. 

He put a hand on the wall and pushed himself to his feet. A glowing blue handprint appeared in the stone, but he didn’t need it to see. Other handprints were already present from his past ventures into the cave, casting a dim, cold glow around the stone hallway. 

He started down the hall, running his knuckles along the ceiling and leaving bright blue streaks in his wake. His footsteps reverberated off the stone walls. 

His hand slipped off the ceiling as he entered a large, circular cavern. As soon as he stepped in, glowing blue lines snaked across the floor and twisted up the walls, illuminating the entire room. The ceiling stretched far above him, reaching into the pitch black darkness of the cave that even the blue light couldn’t touch. 

He hefted his duffel bag and walked towards a humongous statue at the far wall. It was carved in the shape of a sleeping dragon, its giant wings folded against its sides. Two horns protruded from its head, and both ends of a set of reins were tied around each horn. Lying next to it was another dragon about half its size. The smaller dragon’s long, spiky ridges lining its back gave it the illusion of being bigger than it actually was. It looked as if it had snuggled up to the larger dragon and fell asleep against its wing. 

Four other dragons were curled up next to the first two. One of them resembled a velociraptor, with large, powerful hind legs and two smaller arms. Four horns stuck out from its head, which rested on the back of another dragon. The other dragon had four eyes, which were only half closed over the scars on its face. The other two dragons had curled up close to the centre of the group. The larger one was covered in feathers, and a smaller serpentine dragon with six wings had coiled up on its back. 

Three more dragons were in the cavern with them, but they had separated themselves from the main group. One with feathery wings had curled up alone against the wall. The shapes of gemstones in its hide poked out of the rock. The other two were lying down together. One was just as big as the very first dragon, and a set of reins dangled from its antlers. A smaller dragon rested in the crook between its chest and arm. All of them appeared fast asleep. 

George walked up to the very first dragon. He set the duffel bag on the ground and sat next to it, leaning back against the statue. 

“Hey, Monarch,” he said. His voice echoed off the walls. 

The statue didn’t respond. George sighed. “So, I told the others about us being heroes. I mean, I told them it was a big series of dreams, because I didn’t want them to think I was batshit crazy.” He laughed half-heartedly. “They didn’t believe it was true. Obviously. They’d have to be nuts to believe it.”

He sat there in silence for a moment. He hoped that the statue behind him might start moving, or he’d hear Monarch’s voice rumbling in his head, or he’d get a text or call from one of the guys telling they remembered everything that happened in the realm of Angeles. 

Nothing. 

He reached for the duffel bag and dragged it closer to him. “Anyway, I brought these with me.” 

He unzipped the bag. Inside, the glint of a steel blade shone in the dark. He took the handle and pulled the sword out of the bag. He reached in with his other hand and took out a shield. The grip of the sword felt familiar in his palm, and he turned it over in his hand. The weight of the shield in his other hand felt comforting, but he set both weapons on the floor next to Monarch. 

“Figured I shouldn’t have these,” he said. “Ava almost found them one time.” He snorted. “Can’t trust kids with swords. Who knows what she’d get up to if she had one of these?”

George tapped his fingernail on the shield as his thoughts raced, sending a quiet metallic _tink_ echoing through the cavern. “I don’t want the world to be in danger,” he whispered to the statue. “But If that’s what would make you wake up...” He scoffed at his own sentence. “God, I’m a shitty hero. I shouldn’t be hoping something bad happens just so you can come back.”

Tears pricked at his eyes, but he wiped them away. “Sorry,” he muttered. “I... I don’t even know why I’m upset. I just need to accept that you’re probably never gonna wake up.”

He took a shaky breath and took his hand off the shield. His thoughts swarmed in his head as he leaned back against Monarch. He glanced at his phone, but the only message was one from Asia, telling him that she loved him too. Her words brought a brief smile to his lips before he shoved his phone back in his pocket. He fixed his gaze on the cavern floor and let his mind wander. 

He was snapped out of his thoughts when green lines of light began to swirl across the floor. He whipped his head up to look at the doorway as the swirls snaked up the walls, brightening the room further. 

Dylan leaned against the entrance to the cavern, a smoking blunt between his lips. He raised a hand and waved. “Sup, Georgie?” 

George scrambled to his feet. “Dylan? Wh... how the hell did you get here?”

Dylan shrugged. “Same way you did, I guess.” He pushed off the wall and strolled over to the cluster of dragon statues. He lowered himself to the ground and leaned against Dove’s rocky form. He reached back and patted Grenade’s head. “You think Grenade would have liked weed? Bet he’d be fun to blaze with.”

George was silent for a moment. “You know,” he whispered finally. 

Dylan blew a plume of smoke into the air. “Yep. I mean, some of it I remembered as you told us, but I already knew the majority of it.” 

George blinked. “How?”

Dylan shrugged. “Figured it out when I was about eighteen or something. Had a bunch of dreams, remembered almost the whole damn thing. Coulda been the weed.” He took another hit from his blunt, tapping his finger on Grenade’s statue. “You know I knew more than I was supposed to back in Angeles. You did too. We weren’t supposed to know about the future, but we did anyway.” He furrowed his brow. “We’ve had weird ass dreams. I mean, so have the other guys, probably, but... in Angeles, why did we all have dreams about our time as heroes before we met? Why did the two of us have different dreams that told us about stuff happening now? Why specifically the two of us?” He heaved a great sigh. “So many questions. So little answers.” He took the blunt from his mouth and held it out to George. “Wanna hit?”

George shook his head as he sat back down. “I’m good.” He stared at Dylan. “How are you so nonchalant about this?”

“I’ve seen crazier shit, man,” Dylan said. “Knowing that I was a hero isn’t that surprising.” He shrugged. “That’s just how it be sometimes.”

George nodded. “I guess.” He glanced up at Monarch’s monstrous form. “You think they’re ever going to wake up?”

“Dunno,” Dylan muttered. “Maybe. Maybe not.” He heaved a sigh. “Is it bad that I kind of hope they do?”

“No, I want them back too,” George said. He tapped a finger against his shield. “I just don’t want the world to be in danger.”

“Yeah,” Dylan whispered. He looked behind him at Grenade. “How long has it been? A thousand years?”

“Not sure,” George answered. “But it’s been way too long.”

Dylan nodded. He flicked his wrists, and a pair of daggers shot out of his sleeves and into his hands. “So, you wanna spar? We’ve been out of practice. Might as well.”

George hesitated. He looked down at his sword and shield. “We shouldn’t even have these. There’s no point.”

“Come on, just one little fight?” Dylan batted his eyes. “It’s been so long! Come on, fight me, old man!” He scooted across the ground and nudged George’s leg with his foot. “Come on. Square up, thot. Let’s go.”

George shook his head, but he couldn’t help but smile a little. “I’m not gonna fight you.”

He nudged George again. “Come on, just fight me. I’m bored.”

George rolled his eyes, but he picked up his sword and shield, knowing Dylan wouldn’t stop pestering him until he gave in. “Fine.”

* * *

The two of them sparred for hours, much longer than they had originally intended to, as if making up for the hundreds of years they’d lost. Despite George’s reluctance to do so at first, he had to admit that it felt great to be behind the pommel of a sword again. They laughed and joked as they fought, discussing dumb shit the others had done in their past life and their current one. George didn’t know he needed someone else to remember their past life as much as he did. Having Dylan know the same things was a huge relief, and although he wished the other three would remember as well, at least he wasn’t the only one anymore.

After hours of visiting and sparring, they both decided to leave. Both were slightly bruised and riddled with small cuts, and George figured they’d both have a difficult time explaining their injuries to their families.

However, that wasn’t a concern at the moment. They clambered back out of the cave and onto the beach, and they made their way back home side by side. George had his duffel bag over his shoulder, still with his sword and shield tucked inside. Dylan had convinced him to keep his weapons with him. He’d said they shouldn’t let go of those small pieces of their past, and George found himself agreeing. Maybe at some point, he could even teach Ava to sword fight. He wouldn’t tell her about the hero stuff and the dragons, but he could definitely see Ava wanting to learn how to wield a sword. It could make for some good father-daughter bonding.

George and Dylan made their way down the street, Dylan’s arm slung over George’s shoulder. They were both happy to have someone else who understood their past, but it also brought a small sense of sadness. Their dragons would probably never wake up, and their memories would be all they had left of their past.

However, they figured that would have to be enough.

* * *

Beneath the ground, the cave sat undisturbed, illuminated only by the green and blue lights left behind by the two heroes. The statues of the dragons sat unmoving, the same as they’d been for centuries upon centuries.

A crack echoed off the walls. A miniscule fracture had appeared in the eye of the Guardian’s statue. The sound faded away, and the cave was silent once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i will likely go back to only Saturday updates, at least for the first couple chapters of the sequel, unless i desperately want to post the first chapter on Tuesday. updates might remain the same, idk i'll just play it by ear. i'm extremely excited to start posting the sequel, and i hope you enjoyed this absolute garbage fire of a fic as much as i did <3


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